Let The Games Begin
by The Lone Lioness
Summary: The First annual Hunger Games have begun, and no one will be coming out unscathed. No one will go unchanged, and lives will never be the same. Read along in the action as the rebellion disintegrates, and The Hunger Games is instated. Please Review. Thanks for reading!
1. Prologue

Prologue

Shock. That is all that can possibly register as the television in our dimly lit house flickers on to show the smoldering ruins of District 13. The once proud District is but a cloud of smoldering ash. The ash that contains everything that was once a thriving District is now floating in the air gracefully like a jabberjay taking flight. It's almost as if one could hear the audible gasp of disbelief running across Panem in one moment. The moment of realization. This is one thing that no one could ever have predicted. Cruelty is the only word that comes to mind. Anything else could have been done, this was just extreme. But then again, this is the Capitol, and mercy has never been one of their strengths. Anger swells in my chest as I think about the entirety of the District being decimated all at once, with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide from the Capitol's wrath. Women and children have been torn from their lives for no reason but spite. Thousands of people are dead, and all to prove the point that we cannot stand against the power of the Capitol, the ominous presence that has plagued our land for years.

The symbol of the Capitol flashes on the screen and then it goes back to the ruins as if mocking us, telling us that we are weak. Telling us that our struggles have been for nothing, and that they can take us back in an instant if we do not comply. We are powerless to stop their advances, and today has proven that.

District 13, the instigator of the rebellion, has been destroyed by the Capitol as quickly as the rebellion began. The freedom that the Districts longed for will no longer be attainable. Our leaders have been taken out in a swift attack. If the strongest of us can be destroyed in a matter of hours, what hope do we have. District 13 was the only hope that we had to have a victory. You can feel the shock and fear streaming throughout all of Panem. There will be no survivors in District 13. Not one, the Capitol has made sure of that. The ground begins to shudder, and the air cracks as though thunder is constantly booming from the sky. However, anyone that is old enough to remember the time before the rebellion knows that this is not the case.

The sound of hovercrafts overhead sends screams rippling throughout District 1. The sound of these crafts always brings terror to wherever they go because everyone in Panem knows that hovercrafts leave death and destruction in their wake. I know that these crafts have not been gone from the Capitol for long. We live closest to the Capitol, and I can only imagine where these crafts are heading. Perhaps District 13, to finish destroying the ruins, just in case they missed someone. I mean after all, you wouldn't want to leave any survivors, for they could potentially cause a ruckus in the future.

That's when I hear the explosion. The ground shakes angrily, and I know where the crafts are heading. They are here to destroy the rebellion once and for all. I fall to the floor from the impact, and I can hear glass shattering all around me. Sparkling bits rain down on me, and I curl into a ball to try to keep the shards away from my face. Pain runs along my entire body and I feel warm wetness trickling all along my limbs and neck.

My little brother screams from the other room and I force my limbs to unclench. I can feel as more shards of my house embed themselves into my flesh, but I have to ignore the pain and get to my brother to see what damage have been done. His screams resonate throughout the remains of our house, and I limp into the room that we share. The window in our room has shattered from the impact of a bomb, and my brother is bleeding from glass cutting into his arms and face. He is screaming in pain and my heart wrenches. I can't tell how close by the bomb detonated, but I know it must have been close. I wonder how many of our neighbors are injured, or worse, dead. How many people of my district are going to have to pay for this rebellion, children will die, and all because the Capitol is angry with us. The rebellion was supposed to stop the control of the Capitol, but now it seems that the deaths have only begun. District 13 was only an example. The Districts are next, beginning with us. I pick up my brother and carry him into the small cellar under our house. I figure it will keep out some of the noise, and at least there aren't any windows. I set him down, and run back up the stairs to grab the medicine from a hidden cabinet behind the dishes. The Capitol tried to confiscate all of the medicine as soon as the Districts began to rebel, so my father and I made a small hole in the back of the cabinet to store it for emergencies. I fish around for the wraps and pain ointment, and another bomb explodes sending more shards of wood and glass careening through the air. My hand clenches on what I need, and I hurriedly replace the false back and run down the stairs as another bomb shakes the ground. This one however is further away, and as far as I know caused no further damage to the house.

The explosions are becoming more frequent, and I am wondering if they are going to destroy us just like 13. A tear slides silently from my eye, and I think about my parents, my friends. My brother is holding onto me and trembling, so I have to be strong for him. I hold onto him tightly and hope to keep him quiet, as if the bombs are being targeted by the screams and cries of the frightened and injured. The screams have been nonstop since the initial bomb fell, and screams of pain began a few minutes after the attack began. Over an hour has passed with unrelenting attacks, and I begin to think that they really are trying to destroy District 1. I have spent the past hour dressing my brother's wounds as well as my own, and both the ointment and bandages have run low, but I plan to go help some of the others who have undoubtedly been injured as soon as the bombs stop, well if they stop. I sing softly as the bombs continue to crash.

I hear another hovercraft and wait for the end to come, but no explosion follows. I cock my head in confusion, trying to hear it. I count ten hovercrafts from their noises, but no bombs fall. I raise an eyebrow at my brother who has stopped crying and begun to wipe the tears from his face, and I am relieved to see that he is for the most part unscathed. I realize that we are both trembling, and I whisper softly to him that everything is going to be okay, however if this is truly for him or for my own reassurance I am not sure. I wait for the sounds of the hovercrafts to pass before I let go of my brother and walk outside to survey the damage. He tries to follow me, but I shake my head and have him sit on the chair in what's left of the living room. I can't risk another bomb falling with him outside.

Dust has begun to settle as I step out into the street. Revolt passes through me as I survey the damage that has been done to even my part of town. I am surprised that the Capitol would want to try to destroy this part of town as it is the richer part of town, the area with the designers and factory owners, but it made no difference. This is the place where their main exports come from, and yet they still showed little mercy. I can only imagine what the outlying areas look like, and hope I never have to find out. I see my neighbors strewn across the ground bleeding and moaning in pain, and others are motionless. Twelve homes are destroyed completely, and I see the mayor running down the street through the dust and ash. He has to hop over beams and roof pieces, and it looks interesting as he is not a tall man. The small man looks exasperated; his brown eyes large like a topaz stone. I run to meet him. He looks as though he has aged since the last time that I had seen him which was odd seeing as I had seen him earlier today. His gray hair was sticking up in several places, and his clothes look rumpled.

He stops and looks at me with a gaze of such pain; you can almost sense that he is feeling more pain than those that lie on the ground. His gaze flickers around to the dead around us, and I plead with him to tell me why the bombs have stopped, and he replies with a strained voice,

"District 1 has surrendered to the Capitol." He runs his fingers through his thin gray hair and runs off again before I can reply, and I stand there stupefied in the street processing what he has just said.

District 1 has fallen. The rebellion is over here, and the others will soon follow. There will surely be a price to pay. The Capitol is not known to be a forgiving place, and I know that we will soon have hell to pay for our actions. We will be forced back into work, producing the Capitols luxury items that no one really needs, but it at least gives our District an edge. Most of the other Districts were not as well fed as us, except for maybe Districts 2 and 4 while under the Capitols rule.

The rebellion has ended, and as I look at the still smoldering ruins of District 13, I know that our transition back into the Capitol's clutches will not be peaceful, and it will not be forgiving. Hell has broken loose, and we have fallen in.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My family holds onto each other in the living room as we are forced to watch as the other Districts get bombed and raided into submission. We have put up fabric as windows, and there is not much that we can do about the damage to the walls until the raids are over. We are not allowed to leave the house, the Peacekeepers have seen to that. Peacekeepers have flooded into our District and are making sure we watch the destruction. They want us to watch as our brothers are taken down in the same way that we were. People are dying, being shot by other Peacekeepers, or being blown to pieces in other Districts. It is excruciatingly painful, and my mother is crying hysterically. My father tries to console her, but what can he say, everything will be alright? We all know that this is not the case; nothing will ever be alright with the Capitol in charge, with President Hill in charge. I sigh in indignation as I think about the cruel man that has been in charge of Panem for as long as I can remember.

He is ruthless, as we can see on the screen. Districts 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 have surrendered to the Capitol after over seven hours of resistance, and 4, 8, and 11 are under siege at the moment. Screams pierce the air and cut into our living room through the screen. Fire and debris are visible in the air even through the camera shot, and it looks as though District 8 is glowing from the fires burning in the night.

Gunshots ring out across shots of all three districts, and a tall lean woman rushes out of the hall of justice in District 11 waving her arms in the moonlight. She can be seen by the lighting of the hall, and she seems to glow in the otherwise smoky angry street. They have been under attack for several hours. The Peacekeepers stop firing as she makes the decision to surrender to protect the remainder of her District. The bombing stops almost immediately and the screen that shows District 11 goes black. I put my head in my hands, and silently curse their surrender. I wish we were able to fight back, but the decision all comes down to one person. I suppose it is all for the best though.

Districts 4 and 8 continue to try to fight back. It is painfully obvious that they will lose. Bombs blow holes in homes and send bodies raining out. My brother whimpers and I take him to the room that we share to get him away from the images of death. I stay with him until he falls asleep, stroking his head and singling softly making him feel safe, but I know that he will have nightmares.

Everyone in the Districts of Panem will have nightmares of death and flames tonight, and on into the coming days until this awful display of power is over. I sing softly to Resin until he is fast asleep, which takes a couple of hours. I kiss his forehead gently and head back to my parents. What I see shocks me more than the other displays.

All of the Districts have surrendered. In less than one day the Capitol has crushed the rebellion, and has regained control of all the Districts. They have destroyed 13, and regained control on all of the others. They are showing still shots of the dead and wounded in all of the Districts to show that this is not to happen again. It was all too easy to destroy the lives of the innocent families and children in all of the Districts.

This is only the beginning.

Peacekeepers are flooding into the Districts at this moment to kill anyone who opposes the Capitol in any way. Even a misspoken word will get you killed at this point. I shiver in fear at the memories of people being whipped in the square before the rebellion. No form of rebellion will be tolerated anymore. Any law broken will most certainly result in death.

As I climb into bed next to my brother, he curls into me, making us both feel safer. I smile slightly at him and hold him, and fall asleep with his warmth telling me that I am not alone.

A cannon fires and I jolt awake. Resin squeaks in alarm and falls off of the bed. I peer over the side to see him lying there looking up at me. I can hear other screams of alarm throughout the area, and I grab Resin's hand pulling him behind me as we walk down the hall to see our parent's drained faces. The white faces of fear.

I look to the doorway and see two Peacekeepers standing there, and I freeze in terror. We hadn't done anything to provoke the Capitol, so what can they possibly be doing here. The white helmet's glistened in the pale morning light, and they stood menacingly.

"Gather in the square. Now". The female Peacekeeper gestures for us to move, so of course we have to obey. I go first, because my parents seem to be frozen, and Resin is hiding behind me. The male Peacekeeper slaps me in the face as we leave the house, and for a moment I have to stop because my head is spinning from the impact of the hard gloved hand. I press my hand to my face and set my gaze to my feet, trying to resist the urge to spit in the man's face. I know that this will not be tolerated, and will not break down to these horrid people.

I know that they are trying to provoke us, so I try to ignore the pain as I keep walking, pulling Resin closer as he crosses the threshold. I refuse to let them hit him. The Peacekeepers want a reason to kill us, and they will try anything. I know that he won't take being hit as easily as me, and I won't let them take him. I can see the mass of people forming in the square and am immediately confused. It looks as if the entire District is present. There is no precedent for a complete District meeting. At least I am guessing the entire District is forming, because our village doesn't have this many people. I would assume that there were a few thousand people streaming into the square.

I look back and stare longingly at the trees in the distance. I used to go there to climb before the rebellion. I have a strong adoration for the smells and sights of the forest, but now is not the time to reminisce. I turn back and see monitors have been set up overnight. Huge screens hang off of the justice building, and platforms have been readily constructed. There are two chairs on the highest platform, with stairs that lead up to it. They are obviously from the capitol, as District 1 would not have the money for this kind of equipment. The shiny platform and sound equipment means that whatever they are about to say is going to be displayed all across Panem.

The capitol banner hangs directly behind the platform, covering the front of the justice building. People continue to flood into the area, until there are people lined down the streets, so I assume it probably is the entire District, seeing as there are about thirteen-thousand of us left after the rebellion. When people stop moving, the screens on either side of the Capitol's banner light up and the face of President Hill shows. His curly blonde hair and light blue eyes give him a picture of innocence, but everyone here knows that is not the case. He is dazzling in a completely frightening way, but no one can take their eyes off of him, which is exactly the point.

The anthem of Panem plays, and then he begins to speak of the treason that has been displayed by the Districts, and how a price must be paid. I was right about that. He pulls out a piece of paper, unrolls it, with the paper crinkling and cracking, and begins,

"As a yearly reminder that the Dark Days must never come again, it is decreed that, on the same day each year the various Districts must offer up in Tribute, one brave young man, and one brave young woman between the ages of 12 and 18 at a public Reaping where the names of each young man and woman between these ages will have their name entered according to age, one time at age twelve, twice at 13 and so on. These Tributes shall be delivered to the custody of the Capitol, and transferred to a public arena, where they will fight to the death, until a lone victor remains. Henceforth and forevermore this pageant shall be known as the Hunger Games." He looks at the screen with a half smirk, and rolls up the paper. There are screams of shock and horror flowing throughout the crowd. I think that a couple of people have fainted. My heart is pounding in terror, but I refuse to let it show, for that would be giving in.

"For those of you that are in need of extra food, people in the required age zone are allowed to take tesserae which will be graciously provided to them once a month in return for their name being entered the multiple of the people that are in need of food. The Capitol is very forgiving, and this is the only punishment that will be required, however the Games should be seen as an honor, as the victor will be showered with wealth and status. The reaping will be tomorrow, so happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor."

The screens fade to black and the realization hits.

Both I and my brother will be entered in the reaping tomorrow, as he is twelve, and I am seventeen. He will be entered once and I will be entered six times.

Our eyes meet, and he shivers in fear. The odds are completely in his favor, and we have no need for extra food, so maybe it will be okay, however for two families tomorrow will mean that everything they know will be ripped apart and nothing will ever be the same.

I look to the forest and run toward it with my brother following. My bright red hair streams out behind me in a glossy curtain, and I cry knowing that the odds are in the favor of the Capitol, as always.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

There is a sense of peace in the forest that I can't find anywhere else that I absolutely love. I need to be out here right now in order to remain calm. The soft rusting of the bright green leaves seem to be unaffected by the terror that has been going on for the past few days, and it is fairly reassuring that although everything seems to have changed, this has not. The sharp crunch of pine needles and twigs underneath my feet is reassuring, and relieving. Tomorrow the Capitol takes its revenge, and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. I climb up the nearest tree that is still in the District boundaries and lay in the crook of one of the limbs. Resin lost pace a while ago, and I assume that he went home, so I am free to let my emotions flow freely.

The Hunger Games, where kids will be forced to kill other kids for the amusement of the Capitol. Two of the people from my District will be taken tomorrow, most likely never to return. I sigh at the observation. I feel the pain of those that will have to put their names in more times for tesserae. It's horrifying, and we will probably be forced to watch the Games, to show that we have no power against protecting our own children. We will have to watch as our own people slaughter each other just to try to remain alive themselves, and for most of them, even their best efforts will not be enough. Most of us are not trained to use weapons or to hunt or even to gather food from the woods, as it was forbidden by the Capitol.

How long will the Games last, and who might be participating. I cannot bring myself to think about it, and I run back to our house to the comfort of my family.

However, at home, I find no comfort. My family is silent and withdrawn from each other. I find my mother's door closed, and my father staring at a wall in the living room. Resin's whimpers can be heard resonating softly from our room, and the anger builds up inside me. Our parents should be able to take care of their own son, but it always falls to me to be the adult. I cannot take my anger out on Resin though so I walk into our room and cradle him in my lap until he calms down. My fury is bubbling up toward everyone in the world at the moment, and I know that I can't show emotion. The world is watching, and the Peacekeepers in particular are waiting for someone to make a mistake. I lead Resin out to our father, and walk into our small kitchen to prepare what little food we still have.

We eat in silence, and wait for the sun to set. There are no words that can possibly bring comfort. The Capitol has seen to that. My parents are weak enough as it is, as they are only designers. They are allowed to have great emotion because of their work, but unfortunately it means that they are overly emotional about everything. Resin keeps his eyes trained on me, as he completely loathes our parents, not that I blame him, because I do as well. I sadly have had to become a motherly figure for him, and he looks up to me. Which might be the reason that he hates them so openly, not that I'm overly sorry about that.

Cries of pain come from across the table and my head snaps up to find my mother bawling hysterically. I blink at Resin and return my gaze to mother.

"Those poor children, how can the Capitol be so cruel?" My eyes widen in shock as the door bursts open and five Peacekeepers charge into the room. I know what will happen next. Their guns are trained on my mother, and I grab Resin by the hand and pull him into our bedroom. None of the Peacekeepers attempt to stop us. I push him into a sitting position and run to close the door.

I can hear my mother's and father's screams of protest as the Peacekeepers drag my mother outside. She will not be heading to the square. They will want to make this as intimate to the village as possible. I sit behind Resin and press my palms over his ears as the tears begin to slide down my face.

Nowhere is safe anymore.

I hear the series of gunshots ring out, which sharply cuts off my mother's screams in a gurgled squeal. I hear my father sink to the floor in the other room, and I hear the sounds of fear rippling throughout the village once again.

An example has been made. I feel a tear land on my leg, and I turn Resin around to hold him closely to me. He shouldn't have to go through this yet. He's still young and innocent, and his life has just been shattered.

I rock him gently and pick him up to put him into our bed.

"You need to sleep now. Tomorrow will be a difficult day." I kiss his head and leave him to go tend to my now broken father.

He is laying on the floor trembling and dry heaving. I walk over to him and perch on the tips of my toes silently waiting. He remains in that position, so I drag him to the couch and manage to heave him onto the piece of furniture which is no easy task seeing as he is at least twice my size.

"Father, whatever happens tomorrow, you need to keep it together. It's not an option. The Peacekeepers will be watching, and if you show any sign of rebellion you will follow in her footsteps." I get up and stride out of the room before he can reply feeling beyond angry at the Peacekeepers, and at my mother's stupidity. She knew better than to openly insult the Capitol so soon after the rebellion was quelled. I shake my head to clear it of the images of the Peacekeepers barging into our lives, and return to my room with Resin.

It is merely hours before the reaping is set to begin, so I go in to tend to my brother once again and hold him closely as we fall into a light and fitful sleep filled with nightmares of Peacekeepers, rebellion and rivers of blood.

I open my eyes to find myself covered in a layer of sweat. My skin glistens in the pale sunlight, telling me that it is a little past sunrise. Resin's head rests on my stomach, and I gently stroke his hair. I wish that I could erase the memory of last night, my mother's screams pierced through the night and into my every dream.

My poor sensitive pitiful mother.

Resin stirs beside me and I snap back to my senses. The reaping. Two of the children from District 1 will be taken from us by this afternoon.

The reaping has been scheduled to begin at eleven, so I assume that we have a few hours before we will be required to head to the square with all of the other District children between the ages of twelve and eighteen. I untangle myself from him and head to the kitchen, because I figure that my father will be in no shape to make food for my brother or I. I find him sitting on the couch in the living room staring at the television. The anthem of Panem is playing, so one of President Hill's speeches are about to begin.

I have no desire to hear about the wonders of the Capitol, so I go to the kitchen and grab a loaf of bread and some eggs to make breakfast. I am fortunate enough to know how to cook, and what plants are edible for the harder times.

Once the food is presentably cooked I set the platters on the table and go to rouse Resin. He complains greatly at my prodding him awake, but I manage to get him to the table. Father joins us shortly after, and his empty gaze rests on me before he speaks softly.

"The Capitol has ordered that those involved in the reaping wear their best clothes so that if they go to the Capitol, they will be presentable." His voice is hollow like a stone, and I stare at him in confusion. Why would they possibly care what Tributes look like, they are just going to make us kill each other anyway. Then it dawns on me.

This is to be a public event for those in the Capitol. It will be a form of entertainment for the citizens of the Capitol. They will root for their favorites and cheer as they watch Tributes die. They will love watching us die. I sigh angrily in frustration and throw my knife into the wall. It lodges deep into the oak wood, and I look at it absentmindedly. Resin looks shocked and frightened, and I remind myself that this is not the time to break down.

I smile at him and continue eating, but the food no longer has any appeal. It feels like cement in my throat, and it is all that I can do to keep the meal from coming back up. Father leaves the table quickly and I stare at my now empty plate. I try to keep my emotions level as I think about what is to come, wondering how many years the Hunger Games will go on. The Capitol can play its little game, but eventually someone will stand up to them. I dare not ever speak these words aloud.

"We need to heat water to bathe. We wouldn't want to seem improper for the Capitol now would we Res?" I stand to go get buckets for the water, and he obediently follows me, although the look on his face says that he is not at all thrilled to have to take a bath. I ruffle his shaggy blonde hair and we get the barrel ready to put the heated water in.

I make him bathe first because I know that he will try to resist if I go first. I can hear his grumbling from outside the door as he scrubs himself till he is clean. When he walks out he is hardly recognizable.

His blonde hair is lighter, and the longstanding layer of dirt and grime has been completely erased leaving a small pale boy in its place. I hand him a dress shirt and nice pair of pants and shoo him off to change. He glares at me angrily and I smile innocently at him before kissing his head and shoving him forward.

Once he has gone into our room I get into the barrel and begin to scrub the dirt and sweat from my body until my ivory skin shines with cleanliness. My hair is always something of a problem as it is a wavy matt from mistreatment. The water streams off of me and swirls with the cleaner water tom form a murky gray color. I soak my hair until it untangles and wash it as well as I can before getting out and dragging the barrel to the window to get rid of the dirty soapy water. Water drips from my hair and body into puddles on the wood floor, making it look as though the floor has splotches of new wood combined with the scratched dusty destroyed other parts. I wring out some of the excess water from my hair and watch as the droplets hit the ground and bounce in an almost giddy manner. The only towel left in the house has holes and the fabric that was once white has become a faded tan color over time, and I wrap it around my body before exiting the room and returning to Resin.

I walk back to our room to find Resin sitting on the bed trying to figure out the buttons of his shirt. I smile in amusement and hurriedly button his shirt before grabbing a dress from my closet. The soft cotton is well worn, but the green fabric is still bright like the pine trees on the outskirts of District 1. I throw it on, and it fits well still so I am content with it. It flows to around my knees with an open neck and simple sleeves. I'm sure the Capitol would approve. I roll my eyes as I watch Resin trying to tame his hair.

All that he has done is manage to make it stick straight up. I laugh and grab my brush. I sit behind him and brush it back then run to my father's room to get the gel from the dresser. I smooth it into Res' hair to make it stay in place then turn him to face the mirror.

"I look like dad." He whines, which makes me burst out laughing. This makes him grin in satisfaction because I rarely laugh or smile. I shove him playfully and brush out my own hair to put up. I spin my hair around to make a bun and secure it before pulling a few strands of red hair out to frame my face. I face Resin for inspection and his eyes widen at me. I take that as a good thing and I hear a bell tolling in the distance.

It must be time.

I hold onto Resin's hand and I nod curtly at father before walking out the door. His head hangs as he watches us leave, and he looks smaller to me, his graying blonde hair is a mess for the first time that I can remember and his shirt is dirty and un-tucked which is rare for him. The masses are already beginning to file down the streets quietly to the square, where I can see a buildup is occurring, so I am guessing that they set up some sort of station to be sure that every person in the given age range is accounted for. Wouldn't want to misplace a potential Tribute now would we. From the position of the sun, it is about ten, and the line is beginning to move more steadily. The sun beats down on us, and beads of sweat begin to form on my forehead and trickle down my face. I long to take my hair down and run away. The line has finally begun to more swiftly, so I'm assuming that they have worked out the kinks of the trial run for the first of many Reapings here.

When we finally reach the tables, a small Peacekeeper holds out her hand, and after I stare at her for a few seconds she grabs my hand and puts a machine up to one of my fingers. I feel a sharp jab and squeak in surprise. My bleeding finger is then placed on a piece of paper with my name next to it. I don't understand how they know that, but I know better than to question the Capitols methods. The woman motions for me to go to the right, where I see other children my age forming. I nod in assent and move to join them. I stare forward at the podium while Resin is moved to the left.

I feel a sense of panic at being separated from him. I feel powerless to protect him, and realize that I really am completely powerless here. He could be taken, and there is nothing that I can do about it.

I see that the Peacekeepers are separating the girls and boys per age, so I follow Tithe, my acquaintance, because the idea of having one of the vile Peacekeepers laying a hand on me revolts me completely. I shudder at the thought.

Tithe smiles at me sweetly and grabs my hand. She is one of the poorer girls in my grade, so she must have signed up for tesserae. Her short blonde hair moves softly in the wind, and the skirt she wears has tears and smudges. She is a nice enough person however so I do not pull my hand away. The terror in her eyes keeps me from even thinking of pulling it away from her. I jump as the microphone is tapped on and look up to see a strange woman, most likely a Capitol citizen, with purple hair and a large puffed dress. Her face is hidden by the amount of makeup that she has plastered on it, and I cringe. The Capitol's fashion choices will never cease to amaze me. She clears her throat, and begins to speak in that dreadful Capitol squeaky high voice.

"Welcome. Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor. Before we begin we have a special film brought especially for you from the President himself all the way from the Capitol." She gestures to the screens on the sides of the Justice building. And they light up showing film from the rebellion, and the destruction of District 13, as well as the quenching of the Districts. They show in depth the bodies and blood running through the streets, before President Hill begins to speak in the background. His voice booms as he reads the Treaty of Treason. He speaks about how the Hunger Games are to be seen as the Capitol's generosity and forgiveness. Yeah, generosity and forgiveness my ass.

The woman is bouncing up and down with excitement about what is to come, and I notice the two glass bowls with slips of paper inside. Those must hold the names of all of the children in District 1. I blink in disbelief and shake my head slightly.

"The time has come for us to select one lucky young man and woman for the honor of representing District 1 in the glorious Hunger Games. To be polite, ladies first."

She walks over to the bowl on the right side of the podium, and I see the mayor ball up his fist. We are being filmed. I return my gaze to the peppy woman, as she places her hand into the bowl and fishes for the perfect slip in her eyes. Her dainty heavily painted fingers pluck out a single slip, and she holds it for a few seconds before opening the slip slowly. It crinkles as it is forced open.

There is a short pause as she reads the slip, and she clears her throat in an almost whining noise. Her excited bouncing continues as she flattens the slip out and speaks.

"Keziah Ingersol." I freeze because I recognize this name. I should, I've heard it every day for my entire life. It is me.

I have been chosen to participate in the Hunger Games.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Tithe squeezes my hand in shock and stares wide-eyed at me. The woman at the podium keeps bouncing in anticipation, waving her hand for the Tribute to come join her on stage. I release my hand from Tithe and slowly step into the crowd. They split as they see me, clearing a pathway to the steps that lead to my death. I swallow and force myself to stay calm. I refuse to appear weak to the prying eyes of the Capitol. In the distance I can hear Resin screaming in horror, and I have to block it out to keep from trying to run to comfort him.

There is no comfort that I can give him. I reach the steps, and the woman smiles broadly at me holding her dainty hand out to me. I hold my head high and mount the steps to take the woman's hand. I look out across the crowd and see pain in the eyes of every person. I focus on the claw like fingers of the woman who I assume is to be my escort. Her hand is small and bony, like she has never had anything to eat, even though I know that she has probably gorged herself every day of her pathetic existence. I'm sure the Capitol has come up with some sort of medical procedure that makes one look thin. To us it is a sign of a good life to have a little fat on the body. I stop criticizing her when I realize that she's speaking.

"Let us give a round of applause for our very first District 1 female Tribute." A few people clap for me out of fear or out of pure hatred for me, but most of the crowd just stands there staring at me with looks of horror. I find Resin in the crowd and give him a reassuring smile, but he won't stop screaming. I look to the woman as she moves over to the other bowl.

"Now for our boy Tribute". She reaches in and swishes around for that perfect slip again. I was not too fond of the last perfect slip, so I stare into the crowd instead of watching her clutch the slip. I fear for who will be chosen to compete against me and twenty two other tributes.

"Resin Ingersol." Her voice rings out across the square as looks of pure horror cross the faces of everyone.

No. No. No. It can't be. It just can't be him. He was a single slip in thousands.

I see as people move to make room for my brother to walk forward. His eyes flit back and forth in terror, but his walk is strong and confident, and for that I am proud of him. A scream lodges in my throat. The odds must really have something against our family this week.

I am suddenly glad that father isn't in the same area as us, because it would just cause more problems for Res and I. Resin makes it to the staircase and I lock my green eyes with his blue ones. The woman holds her hand out to him, and he takes a step back before recomposing himself and mounting the steps to gracefully take her hand. He is trembling massively. She looks at the slips again and looks at the two of us.

"Oh look at this fabulous twist, a pair of siblings to compete in the Games. How pleased President Hill will be." She bounces in amusement, and speaks again. I silently glare at her in anger. She wants to watch us both die, and she's going to just love it. I don't care if President hill will be pleased or not, this is unfair. My father will have lost his entire family in the span of twenty four hours. I just hope that the community will be there for him in the way that he was never there for them. I hope they don't hold a grudge for our sakes at least.

"Now shake hands. Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor." The inflection in her voice says that she wants us to kill each other. She wants us to fight to win to grasp that advantage. I grasp Resin's hand and squeeze it, but his eyes are full of anguish.

I wish I could pull him to me, but weakness will only get us killed. I will do anything in my power to get Resin to come home.

Then I realize what decision I have just made. I am never coming back to District 1. I am going to die. I am going to do everything I can to protect my brother from the Hunger Games.

Peacekeepers come up the stairs and lead us into the justice building. They hurriedly push us into two separate rooms, and I run to the door, only to have it open and hit me in the face.

I fall over backwards and Tithe runs in. She looks around and finds me on the floor. She gasps in shock and helps me back up. My face is burning painfully, but I look her in the face. She is sobbing, and I move to hug her.

As friends go, I have none. I am not prone to enjoy being around people, but I do actually like Tithe. She holds out her hand and I take a step closer.

"They say that you are allowed to have something from home when you go. Please take this." I look into her hand and see a necklace with a thin chain. The pendant is a small red gemstone that glitters in the light and reflects shards of light around the room. I nod and she puts it in my hands.

She starts to say something else, but the Peacekeepers come in and drag her out of the room before she can finish. I look at the necklace and put it over my neck.

The door opens again and I jump. Father walks in and hugs me tightly. I whisper in his ear,

"I'm going to try to get Resin to come home. So you need to be here." I pull back and force him to leave the room before he can put in any input. I have always been favored, so he will not be at all fond of my plan, but I can't bear the thought of watching Resin die, and then coming home for a life of riches and stature.

The Peacekeepers return, and I follow without being told. They seem pleased with this, and lead me to a shiny Capitol train. I stand in awe, admiring it, when Resin walks up. I grab his hand out of habit, and we board the train. The woman comes in to greet us, and introduces herself as Heyfer Koin. I nod to her in acknowledgement and stare around the cart.

Weird foods in abundance lay around the cabin. The idea of neon food both amuses, and frightens me.

This much food could feed all of District 1 for days. I bite my lip to keep from saying something offensive, and Heyfer continues to speak.

"Fabulous isn't it. Oh I'm just glad that I got a couple of attractive Tributes to work with. You might actually get sponsors! Just you wait until the stylists get ahold of you. Gorgeous perfection! We will even be at the Capitol in less than a day, so we don't have to sleep in these cramped quarters, thank goodness." I stare at her in disbelief. This train is huge, the size of our entire street, and she has the nerve to call it cramped, and stylists really? We are going to have to be made into mini Capitol freaks. Oh yay I can't wait. She is looking us over and bouncing.

"Isn't this just so exciting?" Her bouncing continues. Resin moves away from her, and I speak to her for the first time.

"Oh of course, I've always wanted to be taken to the Capitol to be on Panem television." I smile sweetly, but behind that smile is so much loathing that it's a miracle that she doesn't pick up on it. Resin has moved over to the food, and is stuffing his face with the different foods.

Heyfer giggles at his enthusiasm and walks into a different cart.

"Resin, do whatever they say, and let them do whatever they want. It will help in the long run, it must. Do you understand me?" He nods in assent and I visibly relax.

Heyfer comes back with a remote so that we can watch the rest of the Reapings. A few of them keep my attention. A handsome boy with blonde hair from 2, a huge boy from 5, two twelve year olds from 6 and 10, a gorgeous girl from 4, Three menacing Tributes, the same boy from 2, the girl from 2 and the boy from 4. The rest of the Tributes blend as normal, and uneventful, which in the mind of the Games must be very bad.

One must be noticed at any cost. One's life depends on it.

The windows go black, so I assume that we are entering the Capitol. It is well entrenched in the mountains that were once called the Rockies.

Resin goes and pushes his face against the glass, and I have to keep myself from laughing at his display. Heyfer sniffs in distaste at him, and returns her gaze to me.

"You meet with your prep team in the morning, so you are eh, presentable for your stylist, so I suggest you sleep tonight. I know how exciting this must be for you." I nod once, and get up to join Resin at the window so I don't punch her. The train begins to slow down and I jerk back in disgust when I see mobs of people waiting at the station pointing and screaming. Their faces are white with makeup with bright colors on their eyes, and matching colors in their hair. Even their eyelashes have not escaped the madness, with long extensions of glittery nonsense. Their clothes are big and bright with large sleeves and short skirts. They all look forlorn in a way even though they are ecstatic to see us. It's just the way their makeup is made. They are all thrilled to see us, and in about a week they will enjoy watching us die with that same enthusiasm.

However, I remember what Heyfer said about sponsors, so I wave enthusiastically at them. Resin looks appalled for a moment, but then he mimics me. I smirk and let him believe that this is all fun and games. Technically it is, until somebody gets hurt, and with these Games, the fun will end shortly.

At least for the Tributes.

Heyfer leads us out of the train and explains that she will be the one to line up sponsors and gifts when we are in the arena for the Games.

People are screaming and trying to get a better look at us. They are so pathetic, that they have to get their amusement from people killing each other. I roll my eyes and plaster on a smile that I can only hope looks genuine and sweet.

I make a note to be extra nice to Heyfer from now on though, she could be my only hope for getting Resin home. That thought alone send shivers up my spine. This heavily made up; bouncing woman could be my only chance of getting my brother out of this alive. Well, I'm screwed.

I sigh in resignation and put on a smile for these obnoxious people, even though all that I want to do is run into the crowd and squeeze their tiny necks until they stop cheering. Although then they would be dead, which might be unproductive for my cause, though the thought of their deaths reinvigorate me.

Heyfer leads us to a large building, and explains that this building was built specially for the Games, with an entire floor designated for each District. They must have been planning the Hunger Games since rumors of rebellion began to circulate over a year ago. The Capitol knows no boundaries, but I accept this and follow Heyfer inside the huge glass elevator. I have never personally been in an elevator, but my father's building has an old one that goes up to the higher floors. Heyfer pushes the button with the number one inscribed on it and we shoot up for a couple of seconds before it stops suddenly. I collapse to the floor in terror and cling to the side of the glass. Resin's eyes are wide in confusion as we step out of the opening doors. Heyfer sighs at the room, and as I look around I see why.

Everything is plush and expensive looking, with bright reds and neon thrown throughout the room. It is absolutely breathtaking. I may not be fond of the Capitol, but this floor, is fantastic. I absolutely love it, and it almost makes up for the whole Hunger Games issue, almost. I walk around and sit on the huge red couch positioned in front of a large television with the emblem of the Capitol spinning on the screen.

Heyfer regains my attention by pointing to the right hallway telling us that our rooms are down there, and that we should wash up and change before dinner. Resin looks at her in horror and I almost laugh that he is more afraid of taking a shower than of being thrown into an arena with twenty three larger people. I roll my eyes and walk down the hall locking myself into my quarters. I hear Resin pause at my door before trudging down the hall to his area.

That's when I allow myself to break down. I slide down the wall and curl into a ball letting the tears flow. I cry for my mother, Resin, the other Tributes, and the Districts, but I never once think of feeling emotion for myself.

After a while I force myself to unclench my sore muscles and walk into the bathroom connected to my room. The amount of buttons in the bathroom is so immense that I think it would probably take days to push them all. I pull off the green dress and try to find the right buttons to push. When I step in, it ends up that I pushed buttons that lather me in soaps, oils, scents, and then a machine massages something into my hair before power washing me in steaming hot water. It relaxes my aching muscles, and my nerves as well. The other Tributes will have arrived by tomorrow, and I will be made pretty in the eyes of the Capitol.

I smirk at the thought and step out of the shower to look for a towel. I squeal in shock as the floor turns on and blow dries my entire body. I stare at my body to find it sparkling and clean. My hair is being attacked by some machine, and when it lets go, my hair falls around my face in soft waves. I look at myself in the mirror, and decide I have already been changed by the Capitol. I'm not so sure that it is entirely a bad thing though.

If they can change my appearance this easily, what's to say that they can't change everything about me before they throw us into the arena. That could be very interesting, but maybe it could be beneficial for my cause in the long run. I don't need people to like me, I just need them to root for me. I don't think that could be that hard.

I program the closet to give me an outfit that I actually like, which ends up being a simple black dress, and Heyfer starts pounding on the door angrily. I hiss in anger and stalk to the door in irritation. I must be late for something. How the Capitol can completely schedule every moment of the rest of our lives astounds me. I just want to be left alone to brood and gather my anger so that I can use it to my advantage. Damn these people. I throw on the dress and fling open the door, startling her. She stands there for a moment before gesturing for me to head down the hall. I put up my hands and pretend to strangle her until I feel better, happy that she doesn't notice.

I brush past her and stride down the hall to Resin. I nod curtly to him as we all sit around a large table with a large mountain of food. A tall woman comes around and piles food onto our plates. I nod thanks, and she nods back slightly. Potatoes, beef, and candied vegetables, these are the foods that we devour. I've never tasted anything so rich and delicious. District 1 has some good foods, but none of it can possibly hope to compare to these delicacies. Heyfer seems pleased at our reaction to the food, and she starts babbling about life in the Capitol, but I tune her out. I've heard enough about the joys of the Capitol for one lifetime. I make faces at Resin to keep him entertained, and he smiles genuinely at me. I can only imagine how much Capitol talk is going to be shoved down our throats for the next few days.

I leave the table and go back to my quarters to think. The door closes and I jump onto the huge plush bed. I sink into the fluffy comforter, and fall asleep almost instantly.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I wake to Heyfer pounding on the door. I open my eyes groggily, and roll off of the bed because I can't manage to find another way to get out of the bed. It seems to have cocooned me overnight. I guess even the beds have a tendency to sink their claws into the innocent lives of people who don't want to be meddled with. I finally manage to be released, and pull my hair back before trudging to the door while moving my feet in the plush carpet.

I manage to make it to the door, and rest my head against the smooth mahogany wood surface for a moment to compose myself. I have to be nice to Heyfer, and that is not humanly possible at the moment. I bang my head on the door a couple times to get rid of the irritation, and jump back in terror when the knocking noise is returned from the other side of the door, and slowly inch back toward the door. The handle turns, and I stare in confusion.

Resin stands at the door. I shake my head to clear it and stare at him. Then I remember that we are supposed to meet with our prep teams this morning. My eyes widen and a few expletives flee from my mouth. I glare at the wall and shoo him away, closing the door in his face to press random buttons for an outfit, at this point I don't even care if they approve of me or not. A machine comes out and startles me, while it throws the new clothes on me. I am surprised by how soft the fabric is and turn to look in the mirror to see what concoction my button pushing has created. A yellow flowing silk shirt has been paired with a pair of baggy black pants. Darn, it actually looks fine. I was trying to make a statement, and now it looks as though I tried. That's just fantastic. I will have to try again later if I have the chance, but for now, I am late.

I look at the time and run down the hall only to find Resin running behind me. He must have waited where I couldn't see him for me. I am slightly thankful, but mostly irritated. I really don't want to be his mother here, because let's face it I'm not. Heyfer waits in the living area of our floor with her foot tapping impatiently. I find this fairly entertaining. I never knew that these people could have any emotion besides happy. I broke the happy emotion on Heyfer.

Her head snaps up to look at us and she sighs in exasperation.

"Finally! It's almost time to go, so go grab something to eat and be back here in five minutes, I mean it five minutes!" Her voice has taken on an almost normal tone, so I take her completely seriously.

We trudge over to a cart filled with pastries and muffins and we each grab a couple of bright colorful pastries, stuff our faces, and run back to Heyfer. She smiles in content and starts bouncing again so apparently all has been forgiven with our being less than punctual this morning. I am fairly unhappy about this. It was much easier to relate to the woman when she was not bouncing up and down every few seconds.

She explains how the prep teams will be taking their time to make us over and make us presentable so that our stylists can get us in costumes that represent our Districts in the chariot entrance for the Hunger Games. We nod, and she pushes the button to take us back to the ground floor. She motions for us to walk down the hall and she bounces off.

I look at Resin, and we walk down the dimly lit hallway to a group of rooms. Resin is pulled into a room almost immediately, and I almost scream at them. I don't want him out of my sight. I can't protect him if he isn't by my side.

However, I am momentarily distracted as someone grabs my arm and yanks me into one of the rooms.

I stand staring at a woman with silver tattoos framing her face with ice blue hair. I assume that she is staring at me thinking that I look like some sort of feral animal. I look around and see two other people, two men as far as I can tell. One has long sleek green hair and green skin, and the other has short black hair with red tattoos all over his body. He smiles at me encouragingly and motions for me to lie down on a metal rolling thing. My mouth has become a thin line as I take in my captors warily.

I look at him in apprehension before I remember what I told Resin.

Do whatever they say.

So I lie down on the cold metal and look up at my prep team. The woman smiles at me and looks me over before pulling the men away to talk. What are they going to do? I am terrified of their prying eyes, and whispering voices in the distance. I'm afraid that they are going to make me look like them, with colored tattoos, dyed hair and dyed skin. I'm sure they are beautiful in their eyes but to me, they look like a pack of wolves looking for prey, and I am that prey.

When they come back, she holds a thin robe and hands it to me. She tells me to take off my clothes to that they can work on my body, and I raise an eyebrow but do as they say. The thin silk shirt comes off gracefully, and I quickly slide the robe on feeling very self-conscious all of a sudden. I don't know how long this place is going to allow me to want to be modest, but I'm assuming not very long.

I feel extremely exposed, especially with the men being there, but I try to be strong about it, because it will only take longer if I struggle. I grip the sides of the metal as they rip out hair all over my body and my eyes are still watering from where they ripped off some of the hairs from my eyebrows. I blink until the tears stop, and they scrub my body down in some gritty kind of soap for the third time. I feel like they have taken all of my skin off, and my entire body is sore. They look me over and rip off any remaining body hair, and then let me put the robe on. My body is tingling with pain and a sort of pleasurable after feeling where the soap washed away the dirt from my body, even though there wasn't any to begin with.

They brush out my hair and nod in approval.

"You're ready for Vicktoria to see you." I have learned that the man with the red tattoos is named Glaisho. The other man is Yarrow, and the woman is named Reshia. Of the three I have come to like Glaisho the most. I nod at him and sit up on the metal table, swinging my legs nervously. I can feel my body trembling in fear. I hope that she at least tries to work with me, because I really don't know if I can take it if she puts me in something stupid. The world doesn't need to see me looking like an idiot.

A tall thin woman enters and smiles at me. I feel myself relax a little, and I look at her. She has long brown hair and pale skin that contrasts so perfectly that she has no excess of makeup, only small purple tattoos. I immediately like her. Her stride is confident as she comes over to me, and she even speaks normally.

"So I heard that you came here with your brother correct?" I look at her in a dumbfounded manner for a second before nodding. She nods and asks me to stand. Then she has me spin and her eyes catch on the necklace that I am still wearing. She smirks and walks up to me rolling the little stone around in her fingers.

"Perfect." I want to ask her what she thinks is perfect, but she gives me no time. She immediately takes my measurements and runs off happily. The others tell me that this is a good thing, because it means that she has come up with something stunning for me to wear in the opening. I blink in the direction that she ran off, and sit on the table contemplating if I should stay put or go somewhere. My prep team senses my unease and come over to me creating small talk to pass the time.

They sit with me for a few hours until Vicktoria returns. I look up at her in anticipation, and she smiles at me. I smile back as she unzips a bag and pulls out something red. I look at her in confusion, and she laughs in amusement. She asks me to take off my robe and close my eyes. I feel something being wrapped around me, and she has me step into something that rests on my hips. I feel some kind of fabric brushing my thigh, and something wraps around my right leg and right arm. She taps on my shoulder and I open my eyes to see that I am facing a mirror.

What I see is astounding.

I look like the gem on my necklace in a way. Red fabric wraps around my chest, with a thin shiny red fabric wrapping around it. The same fabric winds up my arm and leg so that every movement I make glitters. The skirt is short and when I spin, it spins out creating the same illusion that the necklace does when it catches the light. She smiles and sits me down to do my hair. She weaves red fabric through my hair until it glitters and steps back to examine her work. Her smile makes me think that she is happy with her work, and she steps back. She has earned my trust after how I look, and I sit and let her finish her work without any squirming.

The prep team is allowed to step back in to do my makeup, as Vicktoria stands in the corner watching their every move. A powder is applied to my face to even my skin tone, and eyeliner is applied to make my eyes look fierce. I expect that they are going to put heavy amounts of makeup on me, but they do nothing else but step back and look me over one last time. Their smirks are actually encouraging.

Vicktoria grabs my hand and leads me down the hall to a row of chariots. I stop walking and hold my ground in fear. It finally sinks in about why I'm dressed like this. I'm here to be ogled at like a painting. However it is more like I am being sold, because unlike a masterpiece, I am here to get sponsors. Sponsors that may or may not save my butt long enough to protect my brother. It makes me sick. All of the chariots have a number, and the line is extensive. I hadn't really taken in how many others there would be. Twenty two other young people are standing around me, and only one comes out. I swallow my fear and take a shaky step forward. The walk to the front of the line is awful. I have to pass every person that I am going to watch die with no fear whatsoever and pretend like everything is going to be fine.

Being District 1, Resin and I are scheduled to go in the first chariot. I see Resin in a red wrap like thing, which is slightly similar to mine, but they seem to be playing up the innocence aspect with him, with his hair sticking up like a young child, and rosy cheeks. I must be the fierce protector to them, which is why they played it up this way, and I run to him, embracing him tightly. He looks me over with awe and I giggle. The other Tributes are also looking around in fear as well, and I take them all in. All of us are just a scared bunch of kids. No one wants to be here whether they volunteered or not.

I size up our competition and my gaze rests on the blonde boy from District 2. He looks up and I lower my gaze slowly. Resin waggles his eyebrows at me and I push him playfully. That boy is a great distraction, one that I cannot afford to have, so I force myself to turn away from the District 2 chariot, and mount the District 1 chariot with Resin.

"You ready?" I look down at Resin and smile at him as the chariot starts to move. I jolt backwards as it moves forward, and Resin grabs into my arm to steady me. He shakes his head in mock despair at me. I stand tall and look straight ahead as the cheers begin. There are thousands of Capitol citizens screaming in anticipation as we arrive and head down the long roadway. I look up at the screens and see that I look stunning. I actually embody everything that District 1 symbolizes to the Capitol. I look fierce and stunning.

I look like a contender. People are screaming my name and asking for my attention, but I just ignore them and let them keep wanting more. This drives them insane as they look up my name in the pamphlet they have been given and throw flowers down on Resin and I. We contrast perfectly on screen, with the softness of his round face to the angular jaw and sharp lines of mine. They demand attention, but it seems to work better when you give them none. I stare ahead of me, as I hear the screams for District 2 begin. I smile and try to keep it hidden from the prying crowds.

When the chariots form a line in front of the President's mansion, I get clammy and wish that I could jump off of the chariot. He stands on the balcony and watches as the chariots form two even lines of six chariots. I swear I almost see his perfect mouth form a smirk before he begins his speech.

"Welcome, Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor. Over the next few days you will train for combat and survival. On the third day, you will perform the skills that you excel at for the Gamemakers. They will collaborate and give each of you a score of one to twelve. This will give sponsors an insight on Tributes before they enter the arena. Good luck Tributes." He walks off and the giant doors slam shut making the ground shudder, giving the horses a cue to move toward the training center.

I guess training begins now. I cock my head to the side as people continue to scream as we leave. I keep my head held high until the doors to the Training Center close. I look down at Resin and see him taking in all of the weapons and stations set up around a large room with large wide eyes. My eyes wander to the weapons and I take in the vast quantities of weapons that I have never seen. Bows, swords, and spears line the wall in a shiny spectacle, and my mouth drops open in awe. It is insane at how many weapons can be put into such a small space.

A woman stands in the middle of the room, and I assume that we are supposed to gather around her, so I stride over to her. She smiles and asks for my name and District. After I tell her she turns around and hands me a black thing made of fabric and she tells me to go change into it and be back in five minutes. I turn and stride off wondering how I'm going to get this thing unwrapped from me. A door opens and I step in, squeaking in confusion as I begin to spin in circles. When I finally stop I see that the red fabric has been replaced by a black skintight suit of stretchy fabric, and that my hair had been taken down from its fancy contraption and put into a ponytail that flowed down my back. The doors open again and I assume I am supposed to leave. I walk wobbly out of the room and back to the woman. She looks impatient as all of the Tributes gather around her. A boy is the last one to join the group, and she sighs in relief.

"You are welcome to whatever you wish, but you will not under any circumstances fight with any other Tribute in here. There are people provided for you to spar with. Make sure to pick up survival skills as well as fighting skills or you may be surprised to find yourself out of this composition before you would have suspected. Disease and cold are going to be your worst nightmare, so be sure to be as prepared as possible. Go." Her voice is slick as honey and almost soothing, and she waves her hands in dismissal. Tributes go darting off as soon as she waves, and I take in everyone else. We are all in the exact same jumpsuit, though the younger Tributes look dwarfed compared to the older Tributes. I run my gaze over the weapons again, and my gaze stops suddenly.

I see the knives and am automatically drawn to the sleek shiny blades. I sneer in satisfaction and run over to them, as Resin goes to look at the knot tying station. I pick up one that has a thick handle and thin sharp blade. Something lights up behind me and I instinctively throw the knife in fear. I spin around to see if I accidently hit someone while cringing only to see that my blade has lodged into a dummy right where the heart would be located. I blink and stare at the blade until the light over the dummy turns off. I look around to see the entire room has stopped and are staring at me. I look around at them and try to blend in with the wall of knives. I can feel my face turning bright red, and for once I wished that my hair wasn't red, as it makes it physically impossible to blend into a black wall no matter how hard I try. People are staring openmouthed at me, and I feel like I have done something terrible. I just threw a knife to protect myself from a dummy. I feel really smart right now.

Even the Gamemakers are staring, and I slink away to the edible plants station, passing all of their tests with ease. They seem genuinely pleased with this, and point me in the direction of the agility area. I nod slightly before running and vaulting up onto a beam. I sit there and watch the other Tributes train, as I am not in the mood to train anymore right now.

Only a few stand out to me as able bodies, both from District 2, the boy from 4, and the girl from 7. The girl from 7 can shoot a bow with extreme accuracy, and the other three seem to be adequate with any of the weapons they can get their hands on. I watch them closely to pick up on anything I can to gain an advantage. When I see that I will gain no information, I make a decision. I will have to ally with at least one of these stronger Tributes. I flip off of the beam and land on the tips of my toes balancing gracefully, and stride over to the wall of knives again. I pick up a variety, and start throwing them at targets absentmindedly. I still manage to hit the targets every time. I go and retrieve my knives from the now very dead targets, and return to my place to position myself to throw again. Something moves behind me, and I spin around preparing to throw a knife at any opposing force that threatens me.

The boy from District 2 holds his hands up in a mock surrender, and I drop my knives to the floor in irritation, rolling my eyes at his naïve nature, making him smile in amusement. I glare at him and reach to pick up my knives, because I want to wipe that stupid cocky smile off his pretty boy face. He apparently senses this because he holds up his hands higher. I hold a knife in my hand as I warily take him in. He is tall, maybe about six foot two, with strong muscles, and brown eyes. He has an angular face and thin mouth, and taking him in is fairly breathtaking.

"I've been watching you throw for a while. You're pretty badass at that." He smiles and leans back against the nearest wall, apparently over his fear of me. I glare at him and throw my knife at the dummy that has popped up behind me without even turning, as I refuse to take my gaze off of him, afraid that he will injure me as I'm sure he is perfectly capable of.

I watch him apprehensively and put my knives back in their places before returning to him and cocking my hip in defiance. He smiles at this and holds out his hand to me in a silent truce, a silent alliance. I stare at his hand for a moment before speaking clearly my voice irritated and indifferent as if his alliance means nothing to me. I know that I need this alliance, but I refuse to give him the satisfaction of that. .

"If you want me to be an ally you get my brother as well." I cross my arms across my chest and wait for a response. He looks over at Resin then back to me weighing his options. I can tell that he is not too thrilled about this option. He runs his hands through his hair, and continues to take him in. I watch as Resin trips on a stair and silently smile in amusement as this District 2 boy weighs the option. I know that he is wondering if my alliance is worth the problems that the twelve year old is sure to bring.

He holds out his hand again and nods slightly. I grasp his hand and am surprised at how smooth his skin is, and I can feel my face turning red. I look at my feet, and nod slightly at him before running off to talk to Resin. The District 2 boy stands there confused for a moment before returning to his training. I nudge Res' shoulder and he jumps in alarm. I roll my eyes and spin him around to face me. I whisper to him about the alliance I have just made, and he nods in approval. Of course we all know that this alliance will not be permanent, but it will help for a while at least.

Heyfer and the other assistants come in to retrieve us for dinner. Resin and I are the first to run out of the Training Center to get to our floor. I anticipate the fantastic food, and am suddenly famished. Heyfer goes over our schedule for the next two days while we eat, but I am focused on the strange fish in a cream sauce, and the huge cake in the center of the table. Heyfer senses that neither of us are paying attention to her, and she sends us off to our quarters like a mother scolding her misbehaving children.

The Capitol is already buzzing with who their favorite contestants are, and I strain to hear them from my open window. I hear the names Liasion, Vivi, Kayos, Joiyse and Keziah. Apparently I made a splash at the opening. I smile in satisfaction and pull off the simple training uniform and climb into my bed in my underclothes. I sink into the soft bed again and fall into a peaceful sleep for the first time in weeks.

A day and a half later we are eating in the small cafeteria in the Training Center with the other Tributes. I see that groups have begun to form. Kayos, the blonde boy from District 2, usually comes and joins Resin and I. The girl from 2 has teamed up with the Tributes from District 4 and the girl from District 7. They will be a fierce group in the arena, so they will need to be disposed of quickly. The two other twelve year olds sit together, but almost all of the other Tributes eat alone. I seldom question it, because it will be a lot easier to pick off individuals than groups.

A bell rings and an intercom blares that Resin Ingersol is to come to the private session with the Gamemakers. I pat him on the back reassuringly; but he shrugs off my hand and walks through the doors. I stare after him in disbelieve and shake if off. Now is not the time to be questioning one of my allies. They order the rest of us to line up by District, with the boy preceding the girl. I end up sitting by Kayos, and he rests his hand on my knee. I look up at him and he smiles reassuringly. I nod and sit in a frigid stance until my name is called.

"Good luck Keziah" He whispers as I stand and grasp his hand for a moment before walking through the doors. They slam shut once I enter, and I look around the stadium. The Gamemakers are sitting in an elevated area overlooking the area, and they are looking down at me. I nod at them, and they tell me to begin when ready. The arena is large, and I struggle to take everything in at once. I nod in assent to them and try to suppress a shudder. Ok, so I'm supposed to show them what I can do best. I walk over to the knives and pick up a bundle of throwing knives.

I catch the sight of a target almost directly behind me and throw the knife over my shoulder, hitting the target at the exact bulls-eye. I pretend to be bored, and one of the Gamemakers presses a button. I turn in alarm to see the targets beginning to move. I smile in interest and grab a belt with knives set into specific sheaths. I do a front roll and throw a thick knife with a serrated edge at a moving target before jumping up and flipping in an evasive motion before throwing two more small thin bladed ones at another moving target that had appeared behind me. I land on the balls of my feet, and vault up one of the hanging bag and throw a knife from there.

I drop off of the hanging bag gracefully and land without making a sound, and pause looking up at the Gamemakers while still looking bored and irritated with their testing of my abilities..

Some are nodding, and others are writing things down. One tells me that I am free to go, and I put the knives back carefully before striding confidently from the room. I stride out of the doors on the opposite end of the arena, and the doors close tightly behind me, making me turn quickly to survey for danger. My heart is pounding from the display, and my head throbs from my irritation at the idiots in that room. They wouldn't know an athlete from a hunter if it was thrown right in their arrogant faces.

I realize that the doors have taken me back to the elevators that lead to the District floors. I shake my head in confusion, and push the button to take me to my floor. I hate the feeling that I get in my stomach when the elevator rockets up and stops abruptly. I breathe in deeply to regain my composure before stepping shakily off of the contraption.

I see Resin at the dining table, so I pad up behind him carefully and blow in his ear. His scream pierces to every corner on the floor and I fall to the floor laughing hysterically. He spins around angrily and punches me right in the jaw. He shakes his hand out in pain, and my jaw throbs in discomfort. I glare at him for a moment, before standing up and grabbing his wrist to keep him from running away from me.

"You're going to go home, so stop acting like a little brat, got it?" My voice carries a tone of extreme aggravation that he doesn't even realize the sacrifice that I will be making for him. He either doesn't realize it, or he doesn't care.

My own brother has been changed so quickly by the Capitol.

His demeanor has gone hard, and his personality is turning into one that is closer to mine, which is not something that I would wish upon anyone. I know I'm hated, but Resin has always been pretty accepted in our community. If only they could see what he has become. I suppose that they will soon enough, I mean the scores will show tonight, and in two days we will be in the arena fighting to the death.

Perhaps Resin will even be one of the ones killing; perhaps he will even turn on me in the arena. My grip on his arms slackens at this thought.

He rips his arm free in fury and gives me a look that says that he blames me for all of this. The pain of this hurts more than any blow that he could have given me, although my jaw does hurt quite a bit.

He strides down the hall confidently, and I have to gape at how easily he copies my stride. I rub my jawline and grab a muffin before turning on my heel and striding toward my quarters to wait for the announcements of the Tribute scores.

I find a set of buttons that brings you any kind of foods that you could possibly imagine, so when Heyfer bangs on my door to come to dinner, I lock the door and program the machine to bring me soup. I can't handle much else right now, and I can't bear to see Resin right now, so I empty my mind and try to forget everything. I stare out the window as the sun goes down, and as soon as the last light of the day has disappeared, the pounding on my door ensues.

I open the door to find Vicktoria standing there tapping her foot impatiently. I sigh in resignation and follow her to the front area as the anthem of Panem plays. I sit as close to Vicktoria as possible, because she obscures my view of Resin, which as of now would probably be for the best as I am beyond furious with him.

Resin's picture pops up on the screen as the anthem continues to play, and one of the Gamemakers creates the commentary by saying his name and District before displaying a large circling 7 on the screen. There are cheers of approval, and he sits proudly.

I nod discreetly to myself in satisfaction for him, and turn my attention back to the screen as I hear my name being read.

When they display the number I gasp in shock, a large 10 circles my headshot and then disappears as my picture fades away with it to be replaced by the District 2 seal.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Vicktoria nudges me in approval, and Resin gives me look of complete loathing, tearing me to the core. I stare at my feet so I can no longer see his anger, and we watch in silence as the other Tributes are given scores.

Most of them I can't even remember when the program finishes.

The few I remember were spectacular and frightening. Kayos was given a 9, and the girl from 2, Vivi, received an 8. The boy from 4, Liasion received a 10, and the girl from 7, Joiyse was rewarded with a 9. The other Tributes ranged from the 4-6 range, and I know that I could take most of them in an instant. I think about what my brain just said, and my eyes widen.

I guess the Capitol has changed me as well. I feel myself actually getting anxious to have a chance to kill some of these Tributes, to take them away from their families and loved ones. It makes me feel alive and energized. If my mother could know what I was thinking she would be appalled, but of course she can't. My fingers are itching to get ahold of a knife. I want to be able to destroy anyone that gets in my way. Even if Resin is changing, I will still do everything that I can to get him home to father. The little brat can live the rest of his life with my brat of a father, so I guess it's just perfect. They were made to live together.

The seal of the Capitol has resumed its constant spinning on the television screen, and I stretch out my legs as Heyfer begins to explain what we need to do to prepare for the interviews tomorrow night. It will be a televised event, so that the people of the Capitol can get an insight as to what type of person each Tribute is. These interviews are supposed to seal sponsor deals, so they are not to be taken lightly. Our stylists will be making us over again tomorrow right before the interviews, and it will be displayed as a talk show instead of a Hunger Games interview session.

The talk show host is supposed to be Reshu Puckerman, a well acclaimed actor and high standing official in the Capitol. They want an unforgettable show, so of course they would get the most high standing and popular actors to be the face of the games. Reshu will be doing commentary for the Games throughout the entire event, including when we are in the arena. He will be given insider information, and will give life to the Games. Heyfer keeps gushing about him, and I have to stifle a laugh, as her voice has raised an octave since she began talking.

She is genuinely excited to see this man, and he must be really something special for President Hill to take an interest in him. I roll my eyes in irritation, I don't want to tell this person anything about my life, but there you have it, I will be telling this man my life's story tomorrow in front of the entirety of Panem,

Resin listens intently as far as I can tell, and he hones in when Heyfer says that it would be best if we can find one character that we are best at portraying. I raise an eyebrow in confusion and she sighs as if it is the simplest thing in the world to understand.

"Show the citizens that you have depth. Pick a characteristic, like sexy, mysterious, or innocent, and play into the citizens hearts. Be that person thoroughly and make them believe you. This is how you will get sponsors. They already know that you are a force to be reckoned with, so show them that you have another side to you. Resin, play the young card, be innocent and sweet." Heyfer tosses her head back and turns to go to her area of the floor.

I blink and take in everything that she has said to us. I have to show the Capitol that I am not just some rampant killing machine. A few minutes ago, all I was thinking about was killing these Tributes, so I have a long way to go before I will be convincing anybody of anything.

Resin watches Heyfer leave and then gives me a look of pure hatred before turning and marching off to his room.

It's hard to believe that just four days ago we were at home, with both of our parents. Resin was still sweet and innocent, and I was, well I actually wasn't much different. However, the Games will change everyone in some way, so it's probably best for everyone if there is as little attachment to others at possible. Kayos might actually prove to be an asset for a while at least. I just hope that somebody else kills him so that I won't have to; I am genuinely fond of that boy. I shake my head to get rid of the thought. I cannot afford to be fond of anyone; I'm not even particularly fond of Resin right now. This however might be a good thing in the long run. I don't need to be fond of the boy, I just need to keep him alive.

I sigh and walk down the hallway to my room, locking the door behind me. I pull off my clothes and step into the shower carefully hitting buttons that shower me in warm water, and rose scented soaps and oils. I let the machine dry me, and watch as my hair flows gracefully down around me face.

If the Capitol wants a character, a character they will find. I think over who I am, and which character trait I fit in most with.

I decide to play the crowd by being seductive and mysterious. If they think they can get me that easily then they are mistaken. I will fight my way to the end by seducing their hearts and keeping them asking for more. I smile to myself and jump onto my thick fluffy bed. Just one more day, and then we will be in the arena. For the first time, I feel like I might actually have a chance of surviving long enough to be of assistance to Resin. I play out scenarios in my head as I fall asleep, dreaming about Tributes and blood, knives and arrows.

When I wake up, sunlight is already pouring into the eastern windows in my room. With that in mind I guess that it is about ten. I stretch to relieve the tension from my muscles and roll out of bed to go see what time I have to meet with Vicktoria today.

The door creaks open, and I look down the hall to see Resin's door closed, so I walk quietly down the hall to see if Heyfer is up. I can see her purple hair from here, so I continue on my way. She turns her head when she hears my footsteps and gives me a peppy smile.

"Good morning Keziah!" she almost screams it with enthusiasm and I eye her warily, and nod in greeting. She pats the part of the couch next to her and I flop onto it. Heyfer hands me a piece of paper, and I see that she has printed up a schedule for me. I grin in amusement, because I know that she did this so that I would actually do what I was told to do today. It looks like I have until 1 to do what I want, and then I have to meet my prep team at the filming station for the interviews.

A few hours later, I'm back in the hands of my prep team. They are rubbing some sort of cream into my entire body, so I can do little more than just sit there and watch them work. They have been at this for almost an hour, and I have begun to get very bored of this, I don't understand how some cream is going to be of any assistance. Glaisho grabs a container filled with some sort of powder and begins to brush it onto my body. I realize why they were saturating me with the cream.

Small gold sparkles cover my entire body, and I shimmer every time I move. Vicktoria agreed with my idea of being seductive, so apparently glitter is how the Capitol does seductive. Though I think glitter is the way that the Capitol really portrays anything. Reshia is putting some sort of design on my fingernails and toes, while Yarrow seems to be having a battle with my thick hair. I try to keep as still as possible, but I am shifting with anticipation for the interview and for the Games. I want to be out in the open, in the fresh air again, and even though we will be transferred to an arena, I'm hoping that the air will be fresh and clean like the forest.

Reshia has taken to blowing on my fingernails to dry the paint, and for some reason I find this amusing, and continue to watch her for what I believe is about forty minutes. Glaisho rolls his eyes and pats my face to get my attention.

I snap out of my trance and look up at him.

"Now honey how am I supposed to make your face pretty if you never listen to a word anyone says." His tone isn't angry, just mildly frustrated.

"I'm sorry, I'm just excited." I smile at him and he sighs, giving in to my smile.

Score one for the seductive Tribute. I'm just glad that I actually am able to be persuasive. He tells me to look up and sweeps some powder over my entire face, I close my eyes, and he brushes some powdery substance on my eyelids, followed by some wet substance that goes out to the corners of my face and under my eyes. Something heavy is put on my lips, and they feel plastered to the point where I think they are choking from a lack of oxygen.

"Okay Keziah, Vicktoria is going to put you in your dress and shoes now. I'll put the finishing touches on when she finishes." I nod in assent to him and stand up to face Vicktoria. She holds a black gown with red and gold accents.

I take off my robe and let her slip the dress onto my body. It clings to my curves and flows away from my hips to the floor, with a long slit up one side to the top of my thigh. The top half leaves little to the imagination, with no back and a plunging neckline, with a thin piece of fabric connecting the bodice to the skirt of the dress. Gold thread holds the dress together in the seams, and the glitter on my body enhances its effect.

When I see my face, I almost gasp in shock. The girl who looks at me isn't me, but is all at the same time. My hair looks fiery and free, and the makeup on my face makes me look fierce and desirable. I smirk in amusement and turn to Vicktoria.

"Thank you." I smile and walk over to her, and do one thing I never thought I would ever do to a Capitol citizen. I hug her tightly, and rest my chin on her shoulder. She pats my back softly and puts me at arm length.

"I haven't done anything dear. This has been you all along, all I have done is show the world what I have seen in you from the moment I saw you." She grasps my hand and gives a reassuring squeeze. I hear Reshu beginning the show and nod at my prep team before running out of the door in my clicking high heels.

All of the Tributes are lining up in a line according to District, so I line up behind Resin, who is sporting a shiny golden suit, and Kayos, who looks traditional in a black suit and tie with a white shirt underneath. I smile at him and I watch as his gaze travels over my body, and I swear I see him blush for a moment. I praise Vicktoria in my head and wink at him before turning around. My mind begins to wonder about what could happen if Kayos had lived in District 1. I probably would be more open to the idea of me being attracted to him, and he wouldn't be here, so that might actually have been a positive.

The Tribute precession begins, and we file in a line around the stage and back to an area with twenty four chairs set up. Reshu summons Resin, and he walks up with a strong and confident stride that does not quite fit his small stature, and Reshu begins to ask him questions.

"How do you think you'll do in the Games Resin?" He looks sincerely interested, and leans forward to hear my brother's quiet voice. Reshu has long flowing bright red hair, and a thin stature, but in no way is that man small. His bony frame is easily more terrifying that any Tribute here because you can still tell that this man is strong. Resin however does not seem afraid at all.

"I think I'll do just fine. In order to kill me they have to find my weakness, of which I have none now." He grins cockily, and the citizens in the audience laugh. His grin widens, and Reshu asks,

"Well Resin, we all know that you came here with your sister, how has that been for you?" Reshu Puckerman looks over at me momentarily while Resin formulates his response.

"You know Mr. Puckerman, I honestly just can't see how both of us are here, but all I know is only one of us comes out, and it's going to be me, so I suppose she is just in my way now." He puts on an innocent face and waves at the people of the Capitol as if he just said that he liked puppies instead of that he doesn't care that his sister is going to die. A bell dings, and Reshu speaks.

"I'm afraid that's all that we have time for Resin, best of luck to you boy of District 1." Resin giggles and skips off of the stage and back to his spot next to me. As soon as the camera leaves him, his gaze turns cold as ice. Reshu introduces me, and I stand to join him on stage.

A hush goes over the crowd as I walk up, with my hips swaying. Reshu's eyes widen, as he takes me in, He shakes my hand and welcomes me to the show. I smile seductively and sit gracefully in the chair next to him.

"So, Keziah, everyone wants to know, do you think you're a contender for the Games?" I look at him and the out to the audience.

"Well I don't know, what do you wonderful people think?" My voice edges closer to a purr than a voice, and I let my voice come out softly. Cheers greet my question and I wink at the audience then sneak a peek at Kayos, who is staring at me, gaping. I laugh at their response and return my gaze to Reshu.

"Everyone also wants to know, myself included, are you missing a special someone back home?" I laugh on the inside as he asks me if I have a significant other. I've never found enough interest in a boy to even kiss, so I would never be in a relationship with one. I toss my hair before replying.

"I'm afraid not. You see I'm just looking for one perfect person that I haven't found." My gaze flicks to Kayos and he catches my eye. The rest of the men in the Capitol are screaming to try to get my attention, and the bell sounds. I smirk into the crowd, let my gaze slide quickly over the entire crowd. They cheer louder when they think that I am looking at them, and I know that I have at least some of their hearts, they will sponsor me. In fact, many of them will flock to sponsor me. I am the one that they can't forget now. I have fulfilled my job for the day.

"I'm afraid that's all we have time for. I know that I and the rest of the Capitol are rooting for you dear." I smile and throw a kiss into the audience before returning to my place.

As the interviews went on, I realize that I had blown most of them out of the water. None could compare with me; I was that fantastic at what I did.

As soon as Reshu signs off of the show we all get up in a mass and try to exit at once. I grasp Kayos' hand and pull him into one of the dressing rooms. He looks pained about something, and I cock my head to the side asking him what's wrong silently. He sighs and heads for the door, but I grasp him hand again. I can't lose him too. I've already lost my brother; I can't lose my ally too.

He turns slowly to face me, and speaks quietly,

"Have you been playing with me this entire time?" I look at him stupefied and try to take in what he said. His eyes are trembling with emotion, and I reply strongly.

"Of course not. If I was planning on playing with you I'd have waited until the Games, then seduced you and you would have ended up with a knife in your neck." His eyes widen, but he nods.

"Then what was all of that? Out there who were you?" I reply softly in case there is a camera trained on us.

"I was whatever they wanted me to be. I was their golden girl, the one that they will fall in love with, the one that they will pay a fortune to keep alive, because I'm the one they are never going to forget." I smirk at him and I see a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his lips.

"They aren't the only ones that won't ever be able to forget you Keziah." His voice cracks and trails off. I open my eyes to actually take him in for the first time.

He is probably about six foot two, with shaggy blonde hair and shocking dark brown eyes that pierce into my soul. It's like he can see everything about me with them. My gaze lingers on his full lips and I imagine what it would be like to let him be there, to be the boy I had been speaking of with Reshu Puckerman earlier. I shake my head to get the idea out of my head, this kind of thinking is unacceptable, tomorrow I will be in the arena, this is not the time to think about what could have been

I lick my lips and tear my gaze away from his mouth. I blush and shake my head to clear it. What am I thinking?

Tomorrow, I will be in the arena with this boy, and who knows if he really is my ally. I hear my brain screaming at me to do two different things at once, kiss him, and run away. I know that I shouldn't be here with him. We can't both live, and I can't let my emotions get in the way of my strategy.

I have to kill every Tribute one by one until their blood stains the ground on which I walk, and then Resin will kill me and go home. That is the strategy that is how it has to be. I look at Kayos again and see him moving closer to me. I stiffen and take a step back.

He raises an eyebrow at me and raises his hands like he had when we became allies. I think of Resin's safety, and force myself to back away.

"I'm sorry, I can't." My voice cracks and I know that tears will soon follow so I turn to him, grasp his hand in alliance and run out of the room. I can see the pain in his gaze and I leave, and feel as though all the happiness in the world will never return.

I run all the way to the Tribute housing building and press the elevator button repeatedly like I'm being chased. I tremble as the elevator rockets up, and run off as soon as the door opens, and sprint past Heyfer and Resin in the living area to my room, closing and locking the door. I lean against the far wall, and my legs give out from under me, as the tears begin to fall and make dots of wetness on the skirt of my dress. The door opens, and I curse at my inability to lock the stupid door.

Resin stands in front of me, watching me cry, and I look up at him to see emotion crossing his face. I curse my show of weakness to my new enemy, and turn away from him in anger. This is his fault that I have to give up my life, and he doesn't even care. He just wants me to die. I'll never be able to have a relationship or a real family, and all because I need him to be safe. Me and my stupid caring where has that ever gotten me. I have a dead mother, a brother that relishes in the fact that he has the chance to kill me, and an ally that I have managed to hurt just by existing. Yeah, me and caring, we're done.

He takes a step toward me and I turn to glare at him. A tear slips from his eye as a silent apology, and I open my arms. He rushes into my embrace, and I think about how Resin is the only male that I will ever hold like this, if I wasn't here, I could have found a boy like Kayos, and I could have been happy, I could have had a family someday, but not now.

Resin rests his head on my exposed chest, and I stroke his hair, knowing I made the correct choice, no matter how much it hurts now. I lay down on the floor, and we fall asleep tangled up like we have for years and somehow I know that I am not entirely safe. Resin has changed, and he will never be the innocent brother that I loved, that I was willing to die for.

Now I will die for him so that he will know that he was loved, no matter what happens he will know he was loved.

I drift into a light sleep where kisses burst into flame, and knives give me the caress of a feather light touch.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I blink awake as light streams into the open windows. Today is the day, and judging from what I have been told, it will be soon.

People are going to die today.

Today the Hunger Games begin. I stretch to find that Resin has already gone.

I roll my eyes in frustration and struggle to get to my feet. Sleeping on the floor really does something to screw up the muscles in one's back. I clench my jaw, and almost cringe in pain. I had forgotten about the injury to my jaw. This is going to prove to be a long day at this rate. As I stretch out my protesting muscles, pain runs throughout my body. My neck protests movement, and I whip it to the side to get it to crack. I can tell that my jaw is bruised from where Res hit me, but I force the pain to diminish and continue to stretch out.

I force myself to stand, and slowly relax my aching tense muscles. I try to recall if Resin had actually been here last night, or if it had all been my imagination. The second option is more likely at this point, as I remember what he said to Reshu and the Capitol last night. My own brother wants me dead, and I mean I want to be dead for him too, but still it hurts. The innocence of the young has been stolen in the blink of an eye, with no looking back.

The Capitol knows what they have done, and they are proud of it. They want us to hate each other. Hatred will make their Games more appealing to the citizens of the Capitol. That hatred is what will keep us alive, and I feel myself begin to loathe my own brother for the first time. I shake my head to get rid of the thought and try to pretend that everything is going to be alright.

My stiff legs move forward robotically as I join Resin, Heyfer, Vicktoria and Resin's stylist, Shale, at the dining table. I decide to stuff myself while I still can and place a mountain of eggs, ham, and some strange colored pudding on my plate. Resin has made a point to pick at everything on his plate, and I roll my eyes at this.

He knows that people in our District are dying to have the food on his plate. I mean they really are dying from starvation, and he has the nerve to waste the food set in front of him like no one in our District matters anymore. I suppose they don't matter to him anymore though. He blames them for his being here, just as much as he blames me.

There are tears running silently down Heyfer's face, and I realize that she has actually grown fond of us, and doesn't want to watch us die. She catches my eye and immediately wipes her face, but I've already seen it. I smile at her so that no one else can see, but I can tell that she's appreciative for it. She starts babbling about how we are going to be taken in a hovercraft to the arena, and that no one except President Hill even knows where the arena is located exactly.

Vicktoria and Shale will be accompanying us to the arena to give us a final dressing in our Launching Rooms before the Games begin.

I nod absentmindedly, and continue to eat until I think that I might explode from food consumption. I take this as a good sign, go back to my room to get my token, and take a quick shower. I push the simplest buttons, and I am quickly clean and dry.

I look at myself in the mirror, and realize that this is probably the last time that I will do so. My red hair is soft and flowing, and my green eyes are piercing and searching. Well, might as well go get this thing started, there's no reason for me to mope around here; it won't be of any help in the Games. I look around my room for that last time, before fastening the necklace around my neck and turning slowly to walk out the door.

Heyfer and Vicktoria are waiting for me at the end of the hall and I pad silently over to them. Heyfer looks me over and hugs me tightly. I stiffen in surprise, and wait for her thin arms to release me. I will never admit that I actually kind of appreciated the gesture. I was happy to have some sort of comfort in the people around me, because let's face it I'm terrified of what is going to happen today. It's terrifying to think that it is possible that this will be my last day to live, this day could bring my last breath. I pull away and slowly exhale.

I look Vicktoria in the eyes, and nod silently at her, and we head for the elevators. Heyfer is supposed to stay here in the Capitol to line up sponsors, so this is the last time that I will see her. I watch her as the doors close, and drop my head in resignation. I just hope that Heyfer is adequate at lining up sponsors or Resin and I will be dead in days if something terrible happens. These Games could take months for all we know, so we need to be prepared for the unexpected. I don't even know if there will be game in the arena, so I need Heyfer more than ever.

I see that all of the Tributes are gathering outside the Tribute building in front of two hovercrafts. I watch my fellow Tributes begin to board the large enclosed machines, and automatically begin to feel afraid. I have been raised to be afraid of these large crafts, and the mere sight of it makes me want to scream and run for the woods. They expect me to get into the belly of the thing that can destroy a town in one blow. Yeah, I don't think so.

However there are no woods here and I am going to have to enter the belly of this terrifying machine. I step warily into the hovercraft on the right, and look back to see the stylists boarding the other hovercraft. I glance around the craft, and it's breathtaking just like everything else in the Capitol. It is extravagant and shiny and most likely very expensive. There are two rows of twelve seats lining the sides of the craft, and large tables with what I assume to be medical equipment in the middle.

I look around and spot Resin with the other younger Tributes, and I sit in the seat that is closest to the exit. I want to be ready to bolt off of this unpleasant machine as soon as humanly possible. I watch as a short stout man in a white lab coat slinks up to me. He holds out his hand and says,

"Arm." I look at him and slowly rest my arm on his palm. I immediately start to pull back when he pulls out a large syringe. He grips my forearm tightly and shakes his head. I bite my lip as he inserts the needle and pushes the plunger leaving a burning ache of pain when he pulls it out. I silently glare at the man who has left a large bump on the inside of my forearm marring my flawless flesh.

"It's your tracker." He says gruffly as he moves on to the girl sitting next to me. I poke the bulge in my forearm where the apparent tracker has been placed beneath my skin. A small drop of blood has formed where the needle was inserted, and I watch it with awe until I feel the hovercraft begin its descent. Wait could that be right? Yes, the hovercraft is already beginning its descent, which means that we are pretty close to the Capitol city itself. We couldn't have traveled more than twenty miles in the craft which means we are definitely not in any of the Districts yet. I'm sure that this is for a reason, perhaps when the Games are finished it will be a vacation spot for the citizens of the Capitol. I roll my eyes at that idea and look around at the other Tributes.

A couple of the Tributes are whimpering in fear, and I roll my eyes. That's not going to help anyone or do anything at this point. Weakness will only get you killed now, you cannot show one ounce of fear or you'll be targeted first which I'm sure no one wants to be.

The back of the hovercraft opens quickly, displaying a dimly lit hallway. I take off the belts that have kept me in place for the trip, and hurriedly run off of the craft and into the hallway. I see Vicktoria standing in the hallway and I run over to greet her. She puts a finger to her lips like she's scolding a five year old and leads me solemnly through the hall for what seems like a very long time until we reach a door with my name and District number labeled on it. I really am happy to see her, and can hardly keep myself from clinging to her like a child.

Keziah Ingersol District 1. Yeah I suppose that is me, but it all seems so unreal to me, like it's some terrible nightmare that will soon be over. However deep down I know that this is not the case. No matter how much I wish for this to be a dream, I'm never going to awaken from this nightmare. My name on the door seems to seal my fate, as though it might have been some sort of practical joke up until now.

Vicktoria opens the door, and as I walk in I see my freedom disappear with the light from the hallway as the door closes, shutting off everything that I have ever known. From here on out, everything that I have ever been taught will change. Nothing that I was ever taught at home is even going to matter. Manners are a thing of the past in here, chivalry is completely dead, and being a lady does not always protect you from harm.

I look around the launch room, taking in the pale white walls and bare atmosphere. It's just a small room with a glass tube that I assume leads to the arena's surface. There is a small closet in the corner but I sadly cannot hide in there forever. My fate lies in that clear plastic tube. It seems to be mocking me with its slow whirring noise and time clock counting down my time left as a semi-free person looming above the tube.

I will be the only one to ever use this Launch Room. The only Tribute however. I'm sure that someone else will be in here at some point. Vicktoria holds out a simple black outfit. Black pants and a black tank top. She helps me into them and hands me a thin black and red jacket that looks a lot like the training outfits, however this jacket seems to be warmer than it looks at first glance, so we must be going into an arena with an ever changing climate.

My necklace is pulled out of my shirt and jacket and is placed on top, so that even in the arena, I'll be that girl, the one that the Capitol citizens want to know more about. Their Keziah Ingersol. I'll probably never be able to be seen as the real me again, but if that's the price to pay, let it be. I suppose there are worse things than being known as someone that is not really you, I mean you could be dead right, oh wait I suppose I really am screwed. Oh well that's the way it goes sometimes you get dealt a bad hand and you have to learn to keep on playing. Which is exactly how I plan on playing right into the hands of this Game.

An intercom blares throughout the room stating that there are five minutes before launch. I look to Vicktoria, and she moves toward me with a band in her hand. She pulls my hair back from my face and puts half up and leaves the other half flowing down my back. I smile nervously at her, and she pulls me to her. Her brown hair envelops me in a glossy curtain, and I look down to see my hair mixing with hers to create one color. Maybe I'm not as different from these people as I once thought. We share a species, and technically it's not their fault that they were raised to act the way they do. Vicktoria has shown me this, that anyone can have a kind heart if you let them open it to you. I come out of my thoughts once I realize that she is glaring at me in frustration. I lock my gaze with hers apologetically and shuffle my feet like I used to do when either of my parents were scolding me for ditching school to run away to the woods for the day.

"Did you hear me?" She asks this with such authority that I know that she must be a mother. I feel my face flush in embarrassment and stare at my black hunting boots in shame as I shake my head softly. Vicktoria breathes out heavily in frustration and pulls me into another embrace, using her hair and mine to cover our faces from what I assume to be the cameras set up to link to the people that have made the Games.

"Do not step off of the pedestal until the gong sounds no matter what." She whispers it so quietly that I almost am not sure if I imagined what she said or not. When I look up at her I know that she said it though. I nod slightly and she kisses my forehead gently. I close my eyes and relish in the moment, thinking that this could very well be the last time that I received any affection from anyone in the world, and I cherished it. I am so thankful that I was handed Vicktoria, and know that I will never forget her. Well at least until I am no longer able to remember anyone. I take in her pretty tattoos again and try to memorize every detail of her beautiful face, from her large brown eyes to her long brown hair that contrasted so sharply from her pale complexion. I would deeply miss her while in the arena; in fact I might even miss Heyfer as much as the thought repulsed me.

The intercom sounds again saying that we have one minute until launch and I jump as I come out of my thoughts once again. I hug Vicktoria tightly and step back into the clear glass tube on the edge of the room. It is confining and small in the tube and I feel like I am going to be crushed by it. I begin to panic, and train my gaze back onto my stylist.

"Good luck Keziah, the fiery love of the Capitol." She smiles softly and grasps my hand until a piece of glass breaks our grip and encloses me in the tube. I begin to panic at being enclosed, and Vicktoria looks at me and moves her chin up, telling me to calm down and at least look powerful. I take a deep breath and try to follow orders, but my heart is pounding in fear.

I tilt my head up as the tube begins moving upward. I swallow my fear and plant my feet firmly on the bottom of the pedestal. If I fall now it will definitely be the end of me. I won't get sponsors and I'll definitely be targeted first. I see light above me and brace myself for the change. The light gets closer, and the whirring sound starts to fade, and it is replaced by the sound of wind. I guess it is possible for them to create wind in an enclosed space. I really need to work on accepting that the Capitol defies the laws of physics.

At first I see nothing but a blinding white light, but as I rise out of the ground I take in the arena around me. Woods, in every direction, I can't believe it, they have put me in my element without knowing it. I smile slightly in satisfaction and take a moment to take a look around me. We are positioned in a clearing with trees surrounding us on all sides with the platforms positioned in a circle around a huge metal contraption that looks a little like something from the harvest. Inside of it appears to be weapons and food. I smile and know that I have to get into there before the others do or I'm dead.

There is a countdown going on the top of the metal thing, and I watch it countdown 47..46..45.. a huge bang startles me from my trance making me look around in confusion. Dust is settling on the other side of the circle, and screams are sounding from around the area. A cannon sounds, and that's when I understand.

The areas around the pedestals are mined. They are activated until the gong sounds. That is why Vicktoria told me to stay put. Some Tribute has just been blown to bits. That's what the cannon signified. I look around frantically and am relieved to see Resin on the other side of the circle. His eyes are trained on the bounty, and I notice that there are other items scattered around the clearing toward the Tributes. As the items get closer to a Tribute they become less valuable. They want to draw all of the Tributes into the middle to create a massive slaughter.

A loaf of bread is a few yards in front of me, but that will do little if I have to defend myself. 20...19...18.. I position my feet so that as soon as the gong sounds I can sprint for the knives that I see in the metal contraption. 13...12... I bend over into a running position and take my mind off of everything except the knives. I'm fairly fast, but I know there is no way that I can outrun some of the boys, as they are quite a bit taller with a lot more muscle. I have to try anyway, it's my only hope, but for now I have to empty my mind of everything except for what I have to accomplish. I cannot distract myself with anything.

Resin, gone. The dead Tribute, gone. The Hunger Games, gone. Those knives, I have to get them. My eyes narrow in determination. 7...6...5.. I ball up my fists. I will kill anyone that gets in my way. They all have to die.

The gong sounds, and I'm the first Tribute to launch off of my pedestal. I'm running, with my red hair streaming behind me. I can tell that the other stylists did not tell their Tributes about the mined pedestals because I can hear gasps of horror as I fly off of my place and run into the trap. Many of the Tributes have obviously noticed that I have not blown to pieces by now, and I have to work fast if I am going to have a chance.

A few other Tributes have dared to launch off of their pads as well after they see that I wasn't blown up. I have a head start though. I reach the silver metal cone, and grab a set of twelve throwing knives. If I need more I can come back later, or at least I hope to be able to. Right now, I have work to do.

The Tribute pack has made it to the cone. I turn and throw a knife at the first person that has the misfortune to fall into my peripheral vision. I can see out of the corner of my eye that it's a female by the way her hair falls with her, the long strands floating gracefully as she descends to the ground. I cannot tell if she is dead or not because I have not heard the cannon blast that signaled the death of the other Tribute. I hiss under my breath and dare to turn around to see who I hit. I spin on my heel to face my first victim.

The girl from District 7, Joiyse, the one that could shoot the bow and arrow is in a heap on the ground, a knife protruding from her neck. A bow remains clasped in her grip as she dies. And I watch as her eyes glaze over. I know that it is over; I no longer have to worry about the girl with the bow. I throw knives at anyone that gets in range, and Tribute after Tribute falls to my knives. I smile as I watch them fall to the ground. Some have the liberty of dying instantly, while others are bleeding out slowly, their blood staining the ground around the cone. I must look like some sort of assassin, but in reality, I am just putting them out of their misery. I walk around to the ones I hit and close the dead ones' eyes, while the whimpering ones look up at me in agony. I can't take their pain, and I close my eyes in sadness as I take the liberty of taking the dying out of their agony filled dying sequence. I put my hands onto one girl and slowly close her eyelids issuing a silent farewell to the girl I never even knew.

I spin around at a movement behind me and ready a knife, as a fiery pain bursts across my skin, beginning at my shoulder, and spreading like wildfire across my skin. I cry out in pain and sink to the ground to find an arrow protruding from my shoulder. I glare at it in frustration and flair around the ground in complete agony. So this is what it feels like to be shot. It felt as though my arm was being ripped off. Red liquid seeps out from around the arrow, and all I can do is watch it as I lay in the dirt in shock and pain. I can't move at all, the pain has paralyzed me to where I lay, and a small whimper escapes from my lips before I can stop it.

Someone steps on my back, sending jagged ripples of pain down my spine as I feel several of my vertebrae crack, and then they jump down in front of me. I stare at the black boots, they seem like a girl's from the size of them and I am flipped over by my attacker. An angry sneer of indifference is the first thing that I see. I completely recognize it, and it is definitely no girl.

Resin's blue eyes pierce into my gaze, and his boot comes down on my neck. I feel him apply pressure, and I choke as I try to get a breath. He kneels down, placing his knee on my neck, and puts his face up to mine. I gasp to get a breath, but his knee is digging into my windpipe too hard for me to get even a snippet of air to my lungs that have begun to burn from the lack of sustenance. Apparently oxygen is fairly important for lungs I never would have guessed that it was important before.

"This is for mom." His voice burns with hatred, and he applies more pressure to my neck and plucks a knife from my hand. It is a jagged knife with a thick handle and double sided blade, one side serrated, and one side sharp and freshly sharpened. He examines it in the sunlight with the blood of other Tributes still staining its once unmarred silver surface before grabbing my wrist. He snickers as he pushes the blade into the soft flesh on the underside of my wrist. I know better than to try to wriggle my wrist away from his grasp, as the sharp edge is the one pressed against my flesh. Any movement will cut my wrist deeply enough to sever the artery hidden there. I glare at him in anger, and watch as his smile widens. This boy in front of me is not my brother anymore, he is merely a making of the Capitol, and they must be so proud.

I watch my skin dimple, but the skin has not been broken as of yet. I hiss in pain as the arrow in my shoulder fully registers. Resin was the one that shot me. My gosh damned brother was the one who shot me with an arrow!

"Res." My voice comes out as little more than a moan, and the effort uses up most of the oxygen that I have left in my lungs, and they begin to burn uncomfortably from oxygen deprivation. My head has begun to get fuzzy, and the world around me is spinning. As far as I can tell there are about three Resin's hovering above me, but as long as he hasn't suddenly discovered how to instantly clone himself, I know that this is not the case. My lungs burn and I cannot get anything into them to satiate the pain. He presses harder, and I feel the blade enter my flesh slightly. It is both cold and hot at the same time and I gasp at the cool blade, almost relishing in the pain that the constant pressure brings me. It almost isn't painful at all, it is more an uncomfortable pressure like that from a burn. I however take everything he gives me with no complaints, for I deserve this. This is my punishment for not being able to protect him. I silently apologize over and over for not being able to protect him better. I apologize for letting the Capitol take him. Tears begin to slide down my face at the realization that I have completely failed him, not only have I lost him, but I am not going to be able to protect him in this unforgiving arena. My body still seems to be mostly paralyzed, but I still wouldn't be able to move anyway, so there seems to be no point in attempting to struggle against Resin's unforgiving wrath.

"I'm going to kill you sister. I'm going to watch you bleed to death in this meadow, and I will see it as payback for you not trying to save mom." I look into his eyes, and a tear slips out. I understand now. He has been angry at me all this time for not even trying to stop the Peacekeepers from taking out mother away, but what was I supposed to do, I would have just gotten the entire family killed if I had tried to stand up for her. I did what I felt was right, and whether Resin sees that or not I will die knowing that I did what I could for my family. I look up at my little brother and take in his blonde hair and light eyes. Their depths have lost all emotion, but underneath he is still my brother.

"I love you Resin." I have managed to get his knee off my windpipe just enough for my words to come through strongly. His eyes change momentarily before he shakes his head making his gaze harden. He seems to be fed up with me, because he raises my knife above his head smirks as he takes his trembling hands and plunges the blade deep into my chest. Ripples of pain explode from my chest and I tilt my head up in pain, refusing to scream. I can feel thick stick warm life blood pouring from my chest. It pours out of my body in painful gushes, and I can feel it underneath me already. I am losing a lot of blood, more than I should be. My actions however I am unable to control with my body contorting and convulsing in painful spasms, and he smiles in content, grabbing another knife from where my hands dropped them. I clutch at the knife, ripping it from my flesh with the serrated edges causing more damage to my broken body then it already was. The pain from the double sided blade hurt more than the arrow and stabbings combined, so I gritted my teeth together to keep from giving Resin the satisfaction of my obvious pain. I look up at him again as he poises himself to stab me again. I close my eyes, and wait for the pain because I refuse to fight back against him, and by this point I am too weak to retaliate anyways.

I hear Resin's screams rip through the air, and snap my eyes open in alarm. I see his small body dangling in the air, being held by his shirt with his feet kicking at his attacker in anger. I manage to struggle to move the few inches to grab a fallen knife and slowly stagger to my feet.

I won't let them kill him. I don't care what happens to me, I can't let him die. I struggle to take a few steps forward, and feel sticky warm liquid running down my left shoulder and chest, but I ignore it completely. I am getting weaker, and know that I have to take action fast or it will be too late for both of us. I take another shaky step forward and attempt to stabilize my hand enough to throw straight.

I pull my right arm back and pose to throw a knife at the attacker.

Resin continues to scream, but I see that his attacker isn't doing anything to attempt to kill him. He really is just holding the boy in the air watching him kick at the air because the kid's legs are too short to reach the tall teen. It's almost amusing, but I still have to play for the crowd. A half dying Tribute still fighting to save her sibling that tried to kill her, if that doesn't give me favoritism I sure don't know what will.

I breathe in deeply to stabilize myself as much as possible and release my knife, and as I expected the knife misses by a couple of inches, just as I hoped it would. The crowd would never know the difference, according to them I was just too weak to aim correctly. However, I know better, and so does the attacker. Kayos stands holding my brother in the air. He looks at me and gives me one of his cocky grins. I raise an eyebrow at him, and he releases my brother, who flees into the woods. I look around and see that everyone that is left in the clearing is dead, dying, or us. The cone has been picked through, with some small knives and pitiful amount of food left in it. I guess I can't really complain, I didn't take what I needed when I had the chance.

I look at Kayos and my brain takes in the entire situation. Blood stains the ground, and I know that quite a bit of it is mine, I have begun to get very dizzy and my vision is really starting to deceive me. I should be dead. I should be, but I'm not. I suppose I am just too stubborn to completely give in to the system at least not yet.

Kayos just saved my life. I smile at this recognition and then without any warning my legs buckle and I fall to the ground in a heap. My body refuses to comply to my wishes, and I cannot get up again. I can feel blood continue to pour out of my wounds, and I can feel the weakness of blood loss set in. I can't move, and the light is starting to fade. Is it possible that it is already becoming night in the arena? My question is answered as I feel arms wrap around my body and the world fades into a blur as I pass out. Everything flickers into darkness and I feel like I'm falling into emptiness, and then it stops.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

When my eyes open, I blink against the bright sunlight. The light burns my eyes and I blink several times to get them to adjust to the light change. I can feel my eyelashes sticking together, which means that I have been asleep for quite a while. The pale blue sky shimmers above me, and I think about how the sky isn't supposed to shimmer. My confusion escalates as birds fly overhead. Then I remember where I am.

I'm in the arena as a participant in the Hunger Games. I was shot in the shoulder by my own brother, and then stabbed in the chest. I should be dead, but I'm not. I don't know what happened to me after I was stabbed. I remember a massive amount of blood pooling around me, but other than that all I remember is now. I just woke up on the ground in the arena. I don't know where in the arena, all I know is that as far as I know I am still there, unless I'm dead of which if I am this must be hell I don't want to relive this arena for all of time.

The strange shimmering sky is just another part of the Gamemakers fun. I can't remember how I'm alive. All that I remember is that I was attacked by Resin, and then he ran away. I don't understand why he would run away when he had already overcome me. Oh well. At this rate I'm going to die from bleeding out. Pain racks my entire body when I attempt to shift my position to inspect the damage.

The arrow is no longer protruding from my flesh. I distinctly remember it being lodged in my shoulder when I passed out from blood loss. My tank top has been pulled off of me to keep it from sticking to the wounds, and my chest and shoulder has been wrapped tightly in a thick white bandage. How did I get bandaged? I didn't even know that this place had bandages. I am unable to move without pain exploding across my body, so I decide that it might be best if I just stay put.

I feel strangely exposed just lying in the open, but moving is not an option, because every time that I move, my bandages are stained red with blood. The red liquid seems to be constantly seeping from the wounds but it seems to spread faster when I make a movement. I put my head back on the ground, and pay attention to the textures of the dirt and grass beneath the part of my back that has been exposed to the elements. The grass is both soft and prickly, and it is kind of nice to just take in the sounds of the forest around me. The more I think about it the more I come to the realization that there is no way that I put these bandages on myself. I attempt to sit up, and pain rips across my flesh causing me to cry out in agony.

I slap my hands over my mouth, because out there somewhere, there are other Tributes that are just itching to get a weapon into me, and to hear my cannon sound. Every cannon shot is one step closer to going home, and I know that every person still alive wants to go home, so the cannons are a sign of relief. One more person down that isn't me is what most of them will think as they stalk and attack each other.

I lay there wondering about how the Capitol is keeping track of which Tributes have survived. Obviously their bodies would have to be removed from the arena, but how do they display the deaths to the Districts. My guess is that they would want to show each death in its entirety. I sense a movement to my right, but I am in no condition to move.

I reach for my knives, which I found placed a couple feet away from my injured arm. My fingers can barely brush against the smooth wooden handle of the first knife, so there is no way that I am going to be able to grasp it to defend myself. A twig snaps and my head automatically turns in the direction of the sound. My memory completely floods back to me as a figure steps into the clearing. It is no accident that I am still alive. It might be miracle perhaps, but not an accident.

I remember why Resin fled. Kayos got him off of me. I now see him striding toward me in concern with heavy even steps. He obviously isn't a hunter with those heavy footsteps. His clomping would set off an alarm for any game within a half mile radius. My heart begins to pound in fear as he steps toward me. I cannot allow myself to trust anyone in this arena anymore. The last time I did that I was attacked to the point of being immobile, so it seems like a fairly legitimate reason to me.

"Well look who's back from the world of the lost" His voice rings out in a clear and strong manner. My eyes flit back and forth as I try to at least imagine what an escape route might be if I could move. It makes me feel slightly better to at least know that I have thought of an escape route even if it cannot be carried out. He crouches on the tips of his feet, and smiles at me. He has bloodstains on his shirt, and I am unsure of whose blood it is. There are several scratches on his face, and his beautiful blonde hair has been grazed by a sharp knife as some areas are shorter than others. I take his attitude in, and take him as a nonviolent threat for the time being and change my thoughts to my own body's needs.

My throat hurts, and I'm pretty sure that my entire neck is bruised from when Resin jammed his knee into it, so I don't say anything. I swallow painfully and grasp at my neck with one hand to feel around to see if my assumption of the bruising is correct while I attempt to as secretly as possible grab one of my knives just in case this meeting turns sour. I nod in greeting to the boy as he plops down next to me and hands me one of the knives that I'm desperately trying to get a hold on.

"Go ahead. Kill me. I mean I only saved your life, and tended to you after you passed out. No big deal or anything." His look tells me that I owe him, and the fact that I am supposed to be his ally makes me drop the knife before croaking out my words.

"I'm not going to kill you, but what use am I to you now, why couldn't you have just let me die. I'm sure death would hurt less." I jump as the second cannon of the day fires. I remember that each shot signifies a dead Tribute, and begin to count them. I count eleven cannon fires, and add the one from the before the gong rang out. Twelve dead already. They must have been waiting to see if I was going to die before shooting off the cannons.

Twelve Tributes are dead, and their bodies must be heading back to their families. Twelve left to play the Games. I have no idea who has made it through the first day, and I am hoping that they give us some indication. I know that Joiyse is dead, but there are eleven other fatalities. I look up at Kayos to see his mouth moving rapidly. I guess I tuned him out as my brain processed the situation.

"What?" He rolls his eyes in frustration and balls up his fists.

"Nothing." I raise an eyebrow, but figure that this isn't the time to be pressing. I need him to keep myself alive. I nod at him and turn my face away. I don't want to deal with drama right now, but I'm sure the people of the Capitol would absolutely love to have some sizzle to these Games. I'm sure the Capitol would love some flirtation and romance to be thrown into the mix of death and pain. I know that they like things to be constantly exciting and I'm sure that the makers of the Games have to anything possible to make sure that nothing gets dull.

I feel Kayos' hand press against my forehead, and flinch in surprise. He laughs at my reaction and leaves the back of his hand in place for a few moments before removing it slowly. His hands are large and warm, and they brought a sort of comfort to me. For once in my life I felt completely safe with him, and this was a very dangerous thing to feel. I shake my head to clear it of the thoughts and wince as pain pours into my shoulder and neck. Well one thing is for sure, my neck is definitely bruised. I watch Kayos' face as he screws up his face into a look of pure thought. It makes me smile, and he looks down on me and shakes his head.

"No fever, but I'm going to need to change your bandages, you've moved quite a bit, and its bleeding through." I look down, and see bright red stains across almost the entire bandage. My eyes widen at this, and I stare at him. He put these bandages on me, which means that he was the one that had removed my tank top. I blush and turn my face away again. I shouldn't be this affected by a guy giving me medical treatment, but for some reason the idea repulses me, and my self-conscious factor plays a large role in this reasoning. I glare silently at the ground.

"Come on Keziah, I know you aren't thrilled about this, but I need you to work with me here. I'm going to see if there is a first aid kit with a needle and thread." I hear his footsteps recede and turn my head back to the sky. He's going to try to sew me back together. If that will help me save Resin, then fine. I force myself into a sitting position, relishing the pain as a form of being alive. Blood has begun dripping off of the bandage and down onto my stomach in thin trails, like my wound is crying. I almost laugh at this, and watch the blood in a trance.

When Kayos comes back, he proudly holds a first aid kit from the cone that I am assuming is fairly close to this place considering that he has only been gone for a few minutes. His eyes widen at the blood, and he shakes his head in mock despair while shaking his shaggy blonde head at me.

"Sorry." I mumble the word almost silently as he sits beside me with a bottle of water and the first aid kit. His gaze is stoic and forlorn as he looks through the kit pulling out the supplies that he feels that he will need for this procedure. Bandages, needle and thread, matches, ointments and a salve of some sort. He ponders his job for a moment and looks up.

"You ready?" His gaze locks with mine, and I remember I'm supposed to be seductive and mysterious for the audience. I cringe as I put my arm behind me to support me as I turn to him, looking as sly as possible.

"Oh honey I don't know. I don't know you that well." I smirk in amusement and wink at him, and he starts laughing hysterically. I smirk in amusement and ponder what the audiences reaction is right now. I'm sure they are amused by our banter, but what of the reaction from the Districts. I'm sure that they think we are acting stupid and childish and that we should just get this over with. I'm sure most of the Districts wished that I had died, for I had either killed their children or am standing in the way of their return.

"Well, I've already seen pretty much everything you have to offer sweetheart, so suck it up and let me play doctor." A snort of laughter escapes from my mouth and I press my hand to my mouth as I try to stifle my laughter. I hold of my hands in his form of mock surrender, and look into his eyes as he removes the bandage from my shoulder first. The colder air makes the now exposed flesh pucker with cold and I suppress a shudder from the chill. It's a small and jagged edged wound from where Kayos had to rip out the arrow, but it has almost closed and blood has stopped seeping from it, so he washes the wound gently, getting rid of any remaining dirt and pieces of arrow. I hadn't seen the cloth, so he must have found it while I wasn't paying attention. The water on it is cold and numbs the would slightly, making the pain cease slightly for the moment. He seems pleased with his work, and moves on to the wound to my chest.

As he unwinds the bandage, I remove my gaze from him baring my flesh to him, and instead watch his face as he works intently. His face contorts and his facial expression changes constantly as he works with such precision that I have complete faith in his abilities. His concentration is amusing to me and I have to force myself to keep from smirking at him.

I wince in pain as the last layer of bandage is pulled from the wound, and he mumbles an apology as his work continues. I can feel the sharp pricks of the needle and pull of the thread as he closes the wound on the right side of my chest. The wound is deep, and blood continues to flow freely from it, I can feel the blood trickling down my chest as he works. Once he knots the stitching together, he rewraps the wounds and looks into my eyes.

"Thank you." I return his gaze just as strongly, and slowly get to my feet. The stitches pull uncomfortably, but no blood stains the bandage, and I take that as a good sign. I grin at him in satisfaction at his work being as this is the first time I have been able to move freely for hours. I loved the feeling of being able to use my fight ot flight mechanism again, and was glad to be able to grip my knives again without having to worry if I was going to be able to aim or not.

"Of course" He looks at his feet and hands me my knives, then starts walking in the direction of the trees. I stare after him as he walks away before realizing that he has stopped to see if I have begun to follow him. Irritation flames up in my, but I force it down, I cannot afford to have my one and only ally walk away from me because I got mad at his caring about me.

"Where are we going?" I look at him in confusion and follow him slowly into the unforgiving clutches of the dense foliage. The sunlight is partially blocked out, and it casts beautiful moving shadows of the flickering leaves. We are beginning to hunt, Tributes are the prey, and we are the hunters.

As the sun sets, Kayos and I choose a spot in the trees to camp for the night. A copse of bushes provides the perfect cover for us, so that any passing Tributes would be unaware of our whereabouts. At least that is what I hope for. I am still not strong enough to run away from any attacker right now. I plop down on the ground and start to think about what could be happening out there right now. I'm sure there is another alliance of Tributes, and I know that they are strong. From what I had observed in the training room, they were skilled and ruthless. They seemed to really enjoy the idea that they were going to be able to murder people and completely get away with it with no punishment whatsoever, well if you don't count the whole being thrown into an arena and being forced to fight to the death until only one remains. I suppose that isn't a huge problem for those Tributes however, they seem cocky, and cockiness could prove to be a very bad thing in here. One false move and that's the end. There are no second chances.

I breathe deeply at the familiar scent of pine, and am immediately relaxed. Kayos gave me some sort of medicine a while ago that took away all of the pain from my wounds, and I am able to function completely normally again. I still continue to bleed slightly, but it has gotten to the point that I am not longer afraid that I am going to bleed out anymore. I wonder if my father is being forced to watch this as it goes down, and wonder if he is terrified by what has become of his children. I'm sure he is, I can't imagine my father being proud of us taking away other children from their families, and I know that he is not at all thrilled by my decision. Now however is not the time to be thinking of people that I can do nothing about. I turn my attention to Kayos and watch his blonde head disappear around a tree. I decide that it's time for me to get up and actually start pulling my own weight in this alliance, and since I know that Kayos is incapable, I roll to my feet to go hunting.

I hear a scream in the distance, and my eyes widen. Someone is being chased. If I had to guess, I would assume that Vivi, Liasion and the girl from 4 are hunting. Obviously they have done a fairly acceptable job of it. I put their hunt out of my mind as I focus on my own. My footsteps are as light as air as I follow a game trail, hoping to come upon some animal. I grab a few leaves and throw them into the air to test the direction of the wind. I need to make sure that I don't mess this up. Now is not the time to scare away any potential game by making careless mistakes. A twig snaps behind me, and I throw my knife instinctively. From the sound of the snap whatever it is is fairly large. I spin around anxiously to see what I had taken down, and my eyes widen in shock and horror.

A girl falls to the ground with my knife in her stomach. Her scream pierces the air, and gurgles to a stop after a few moments. I didn't mean to kill this one. Her long brown hair fans out around her small dark body. She must have been one of the Tributes that made no impression at the opening or the interviews, because I don't remember ever seeing her before now. I had meant to kill those people at the cone, but this one I thought had been a wild animal. Her tread had been too light, and her presence too quiet for me to have distinguished the difference.

"I'm so sorry." I whisper to her as she dies, my hand instinctively grasps hers and I squeeze it reassuringly for her. I know that she knows that she is not going to be okay, but I know that if my child was here I would want someone to stay with them when they were afraid. I know that I would want someone to stay with Resin if something happened to him, so I stay. I feel her small fingers have started to slacken their grip on my hand. I kiss her forehead softly, and watch as her eyes hold mine until the moment she dies. They hold no anger, only fear. She probably thought that she could go home if she just stayed invisible. I close her eyelids and stand to leave her. I can't afford to stay here and see what they do with the bodies, because to be completely honest, I really don't want to know.

Her cannon sounds and I kiss her forehead once again in farewell before retrieving my knife and retreating into the bushes. She couldn't have been any older than fifteen. Her family and friends now call for my blood, and will hope to see me die. All of us have families that think that we will be coming home, but the truth is, only one of us comes out alive. Twenty two families will be completely destroyed by the Hunger Games. The more I think about it the more I am sure that I recognized her scream. She had been the one that cried out a short while ago. My heart pounds in alarm. Her attackers would have been close behind her, and will be in this area. I have to leave, now. They will have heard her scream from being hit, and they would be coming to see what was going on. They will want to know if their victim is dead.

I stream back to the copse of bushes where Kayos and I have decided to hide, only to smack right into him. He spins around in fear, raising a large sword over his head to retaliate. I retaliate instinctively and grab two of my knives, ready to attack at any sign of betrayal. I was not going to fall for the trust aspect twice in one day. The knives are thin twin blades, and both my knives and his sword glint in the pale light that shines through the trees.

"It's me!" I put my arms over my head in protection and wait until I see the tip of the blade embedded in the dirt. He pats me on the back and let out a sigh of relief. I guess he has no intention of turning on me, at least for the moment. I slowly unclench my fists and place my knives back into their sheaths on the belt. I close my eyes for a moment and take a deep breath to calm down my frantic emotions. I hear him begin to speak and snap my eyes open.

"Gosh Ziah, don't do that! You almost gave me a heart attack." I can hear the faint sound of his heart pounding frantically. We collapse into the bushes and move the branches to cover our little clearing. Hopefully the branches cover enough of the clearing to cover the front of the bush. There is a thicket behind us, so all that we have to cover completely is the thin top.

I start working to cut off the smaller branches in the middle of the bushes to create a sort of a tent for the two of us. The thick handle of the serrated blade makes the work easier, and the rhythmic sound of the sawing is calming to me. I love the sound of metal on wood, and the small pile of wood shavings that have piled below me is soft and powdery. I can sense that Kayos is watching me work, and I shiver involuntarily. I hear his faint laugh and his deep silky voice sounds quietly.

"I make you nervous don't I?" I look at his face in the setting sun to see his quirky cocky smile plastered across his face. The shadows make the contours of his face seem deeper, making him look older. I don't even know how old he is. My heart races involuntarily and I silently curse my inability to keep my emotions under control. I really hope that my face isn't showing my emotion, because if there isn't a fight going on somewhere in the arena, I'm sure either we or the other alliance are front and center on every screen in Panem.

"Don't flatter yourself; everyone in here makes me nervous." I roll my eyes in irritation and turn back to my work. I haven't completely lied to him, it's true that everyone in this arena does make me nervous, now the fact that he makes me especially nervous is beside the point and irrelevant to the situation. I cannot allow myself to be nervous for any reason other than those situations that would be potentially fatal to me or my small alliance.

"Come on, we are going to have to talk at some point if we want this alliance to go smoothly." I stick the knife into the wood of a branch and plop into a sitting position, motioning for him to continue in an indifferent manner. I love the idea that to someone in Panem, in fact to many, I am a mysterious being. I return my gaze to him. He raises an eyebrow in frustration and moves closer to me. My shoulder begins to prickle, however I am not sure if it is from my injury or not. I roll my shoulders to relieve some of the pain and tension from my healing muscles and wait for him to continue.

"Do you want to track Tributes, or wait for them to stumble upon our hiding place?" I lift my gaze and smile in anticipation. I have actually enjoyed today, aside from the whole getting injured situation and the accidental death. I wish I could just erase that from my memory, but there is only so much that one can do to erase a tragedy from one's mind.

"I think we need a plan about targeting Tributes. We can't afford to just go in and attack people; we will only get ourselves killed." My intense gaze fixes to his and I give a seductive smile. His brown eyes look confused for a moment before the realization crosses his face.

"Oh no. Not a good plan. Not going to happen." I frown at his reply, and reply soundly.

"Would you kill somebody that you are attracted to?" My voice purrs out and glides softly through the air between us. His gaze falls to his feet, and I smirk in anticipation.

"You know that I wouldn't." I rub his shoulder gently to get him to look me in the eye again. I smirk at him as my plan begins to formulate in my head, it's absolutely perfect.

"Neither would any other person in this arena. That's our tactic. Seduce the Tribute, and then the other will kill them before they know what hit them. It will be easy, and the Capitol will love our manipulative nature." I cock my head to the side and smile in amusement. The people of the Capitol would adore the drama and pain associated with manipulation and fake love. It's absolutely perfect. The Capitol is all about being fake and remade, so what better way to get sponsors than to become one of them. I'm obviously not actually an uncaring manipulative person, and I'm definitely not that great at being seductive, but how hard can it be to fake it.

"I don't know, maybe it could work." His voice trails off to a whisper.

We both jump in alarm as the anthem of Panem sounds throughout the arena. I grasp one of my knives and prepare for some sort of Capitol planned attack on the remaining Tributes. Perhaps they feel like the Games have been too easy so far I don't see how anyone could possibly see this as easy seeing as thirteen people are dead in the first day, but the Capitol is a never ending question so anything is possible when it comes to them. We look at each other as the sky lights up with the seal of the Capitol.

I look to the sky as the face of the boy from District 3 lights up. This must be the Tributes that have died today. The girl from 4, both Tributes from District 5, Joiyse from District 7, Both tributes from 8, the girl from District 9, she's the one that I accidently killed, both Tributes from District 10, the boy from 11, and both Tributes from 12. The seal of the Capitol reappears, and the sky goes dark.

So the Power Tributes have been diminished. The girl from 4 and Joiyse are dead, leaving only Vivi and Liasion to prey upon the other Tributes. Kayos and I are going to start our hunt in the morning. Thirteen Tributes dead, and eleven left to play, and all in one day..

I curl up on the ground and try to fall asleep. I can sense Kayos behind me, and I roll over to face him. His brown eyes take me in and he rolls onto his back staring at the stars. I move closer to share his warmth, as my shirt was beyond repair, and the jacket doesn't keep out the nip of the plunging temperature. I swear I can hear him sniff in amusement, but at this point my only point of caring is that I need to stay warm, and this is the only thing that I can think of right away. The temperature has plunged from the warmth of the day, and I watch the top of the arena. I don't understand how there are stars on the ceiling of what I assume to be a dome, but who am I to complain, it's actually kind of nice to see something that reminds me of home.

I stare up at the stars before I drift into a light sleep in our little cove feeling like I am in the pits of hell, with only one way out. Death.

_There is a girl that I have never seen before running through the forest. She is tall and lean, which means she is probably from the outskirts of the District. She has light pale skin, and long dark hair that has been braided down her back. I watch as she sneaks through a wire fence and runs into the forest that lays beyond the fence._

_There are no fences in District 1. This must be somewhere else. I sneak from my hiding place and pad silently after her to see where she goes. She looks behind her to see if anyone is following her, and I guess she doesn't see me because she keeps running into the depths of the forest. The browns and greens of the trees in the forest blur together as I race to keep up with the lithe girl. She looks to be about sixteen, and I pause as she suddenly stops at a tree. What could possibly be so important about a hollowed out tree. She doesn't have anything to hunt with, so there is no way that she has found game in there unless she plans to kill something with her long slim hands. Her hand reaches into the hole and I watch as she draws out a long slender well-worn bow with a sheath of what looks to be handmade arrows._

_She pulls back the bow and I watch as the arrow sets itself on fire. Flames burst out around the girl as well, and I watch as the wildfire spreads. I scream out in shock for the girl to hear me, but she is trained on whatever she is aiming at. I watch as she releases the arrow and it pierces a single white rose. I stare in confusion and return my gaze to the girl, but she has disappeared. The flames still rage on, but the girl on fire is gone. I guess that would be the best way to describe her. Flames came off of her entire body, and the one spark grew into a wildfire. The girl on fire. I hear a cawing noise above me, and turn my head to the noise. A large mockingjay is soaring a few feet above me. I have never seen them this close before, and this one is beautiful. The bird has black feather with a brown tint, and stone grey eyes that I have never seen on a bird before. I had only seen this color on one other person before, the girl that was on fire. I lock my gaze with the bird's and it angles down toward me._

_I brace myself to be attacked, and open my eyes to see a pair of boots standing before me. The worn brown leather is definitely not birdlike, and I manage to unclench my hands from behind my neck, and stand up straight to see who has managed to sneak up on me and protect me from the mockingjay. Stone grey eyes meet my gaze, and I scream. _

_I watch as the girl smiles, her long braid moving in the wind like the flames that dance around her body. She shines like the sun in the morning light, and she is almost not alive with her glowing body and too bright eyes. It's almost as though her eyes are also on fire the grey color seems to be swirling and swaying. She looked as though she herself was a bending of light, both there and not all at the same time. She looked as though she was from another time, with a worn leather jacket, worn pants, and solemn, stoic facial expressions. This girl looks as though she has been through a lot in her life. Her face looks aged, like she has been forced to lose her innocence before her time._

_"Who are you?" My voice comes out as little more than a whisper, and the girl grasps her bow more tightly. She looks over me thoroughly before shaking her head in sadness. Why is she shaking her head in sadness at me? I don't know this girl, and I am fairly sure we have never met, but she seems to know exactly who I am. _

_I feel a lapping of water at my ankles and look down to see red liquid flooding the clearing. I look up at the girl in horror, and she just stares at the liquid._

_"Your sacrifices will not be given in vain in the end. I promise each and every one of you that." I crinkle my face in confusion, and look around me to see others have come into the clearing. The river of blood has gotten stronger, and now laps at my knees. I take in as many of these people's faces as I can. I see the girl from today, Joiyse, a beautiful girl with blonde hair, a young girl with dark skin and wild hair that looks to be the same age as Resin, an older man that looks drunk, a smart looking man and a woman that clings to his side. I see that the man is holding a piece of wire, and I continue to glance around. There is a larger boy with blonde hair, several young children their faces sad and fearful. I look at the girl and see every one of their faces in hers. She seems to be the keeper of every single one of the souls in here. A small blonde girl steps out from behind her, and the girl on fire screams in agony. The screams echo throughout the clearing as every single person joins in. A small teen that holds a knife steps out from behind a tree with a large blonde boy with a sword. I stare at them and realize that I am screaming as well. _

_"The bloodshed must end. Fire is spreading." The words spew from every person in the clearing, and the girl on fire rises into the sky while transforming into the beautiful mockingjay that I had seen earlier. It's wings catch fire, and the bird disappears into a ball of flames. The river of blood floods over and pulls me under, and I open my eyes to see the others close their eyes and sink to the bottom. These must be Tributes from a time after mine. This must be the future. I close my eyes and let the river take me._

My eyes snap open as I hear a twig snap on the other side of the small clearing. I prod Kayos in the side before rolling to my feet silently. I had fallen asleep with a knife in my hand, so I crouch in the brush and wait for another sound to pinpoint my target. Kayos has managed to remain asleep and I hiss in frustration. There is quite a bit of wind this morning, so there is rustling in the trees and bushes making it hard to tell where any noise is coming from besides the wind. I train my ears to the noises on the ground and wait.

A crunch of leaves sounds to my left and I throw my knife at the threat. I hear a thud, and step out of the brush to see a rabbit lying on its side, dead. Huh. Well I guess that's one way to hunt. The rabbit is small, but it should be enough to feed two people for one meal at least. Its brown fur is soft and warm, and I giggle in excitement and grab the rabbit to carry it back to our cove.

Kayos snaps awake in alarm and jumps to his feet. His eyes are moving swiftly trying to find the threat, but his focus seems to be off because he is turned in the wrong direction.

"Gosh you're slow. I brought breakfast, so stop trying to be all macho, and go back to your nap." I drop the rabbit on his face and drop to the ground. He pushes the rabbit off of him and a trail of blood trickles down his face and he smiles at me. I roll my eyes in irritation at his inability to awaken in the sight of potential danger. He might be more of a threat than I had initially anticipated. Although he can fight, there is quite a problem if the boy cannot spontaneously transfer from one task to the next. I push the thought away and refocus my attention to the tasks ahead of us for the day. We need to eat and get moving.

"You're such a good provider for us dear." I laugh and push him over.

"Yeah, I am. So you get to make the fire. Have fun don't die." I blow him a kiss and shoo him away while I work on our entrenchment. I skin and gut the rabbit to the best of my abilities, and toss it out to Kayos, who has gotten a pretty good fire going. I watch the clear smoke billow up into the air, and am relieved that Kayos had the common sense to use dry tinder and that he had managed to put matches inside one of the backpacks from the cone. He hands me a pack, and I examine the contents. First aid kit, two quarts of water, some crackers, and two loaves of bread made from some weird kind of gritty grain that is not made in District 1, and some extra knives.

I guess he really has thought ahead. This amount of water is not going to last very long in this heat, and I haven't seen any streams or any water sources as of yet. The food is going to need to be kept until it is absolutely necessary because we don't know what could be out there. I'm sure that the makers of the Games have some trick or twist planned, and we need to be prepared. I smile at him in gratitude, and he stores a serrated knife in his pack before standing up and holding his hand out to me. I grasp his wrist and hoist myself to my feet. My wounds hurt significantly less today, with the obvious pulling at the stitches, but that seems to be the extent of the problems, and my eyes gleam with mischief. Capitol medicine is amazing.

He smiles at my obvious improvement over night, and lets his face go blank with seriousness. This is obviously not a time to joke around. Today we try to make progress in our attempt to get home. Well at least for him. We both know that only one of us will get home, but the odds are that someone else will kill one of us before we have to try to kill each other. I look up at the pale blue sky and take in all of the smells of the arena.

"You ready?" his eyes twitch with anticipation, and I jump up and down in excitement.

"Let's go hunt." My voice comes out as silky and secretive, and I' sure that the cameras are on us unless there is a fight, so I pop out of the brush and give the air a mischievous smile. There let them think about what that means, they will think many things about me, that I am cruel, unjust, that I will turn on my ally when the time comes, that the other Tributes are going to kill me. Well I am ready, and I refuse to back down for anyone or anything.

I grab Kayos' hand as support to get out of the bush and we head out on our mission to lower the playing field.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

We have been walking around this arena for hours. It seems endless. It seems to be a never ending forest. The forest seems to devour you and make it so that you can never find your way again. We have found no Tributes, and no water. If this rate is to continue, we will run out of water and dehydrate, that wouldn't make for a very good Game though, so I assume that they will send us something if we are in dire need of it. There must be water coming from somewhere, because the grass and the trees are very green and very alive. I can't even tell if we are walking in a straight line or if we are traveling in circles. It is hard to distinguish one tree from the next.

Kayos has taken the lead, and has been scoping the surroundings for any sign of a problem. I don't see how he's going to ever notice if there is a problem seeing as the forest seems to have gotten denser. The bushes have gotten taller making it hard to see. We can see about ten feet in front of us, which makes me feel more like the prey than the hunter.

There has been absolutely no change in scenery, this entire arena is a forest I don't understand how the entire thing can possibly be all forest. I don't even know how big the arena is. It obviously can't go on forever, but I don't know if the Capitol is able to alter the perception of space. I'm sure they can. They want to watch us get lost and go insane. I do really like the scenery, as I am very comfortable with the forest. I sigh in annoyance at the vastness of this stupid arena. This really could take weeks at this rate. Kayos smiles at my impatient nature, and jumps over a log that has managed to get in his path. I'm sure that he wants to show off seeing as that stupid cocky grin that always appears on his face has gotten bigger since he saw the log.

His foot catches on the log, and he falls flat on his face. I look at him in shock for a moment before laughing in amusement as he attempts to untangle his feet from the top of the log. His foot has gotten tangled in a piece of moss, and I push his feet off of the log and help him up before vaulting over the log and landing gracefully on the other side despite my injuries.

"Hopefully we find someone before you manage to kill yourself by tripping on things." My voice comes out in a laughing tone and I smirk as he turns bright red and pushes me playfully. I don't understand how making so much noise has not drawn anyone to us yet.

I wish that Resin were here with me now. I miss his presence, well at least what his presence used to be. I miss my innocent, sweet little brother. I sigh as I think that Resin is out here somewhere, tracking us, wanting to kill me to get back at me for my lack of involvement with mom. The life that I had always known seems to be a lifetime away at this point, and it seems like my entire life has been in the Capitol and then in this place. To me it almost isn't even an arena, but just a forest.

A sigh escapes my mouth as I think of him.

"What's District 2 like Kayos?" The question escapes from my lips before I can stop it, and I automatically regret it. There is only so much that the Capitol has left untouched for us in this arena, and our past and memories are all that we have that is private.

He looks back at me with a look of confusion and stops walking for a moment.

"Well it's really packed with people, and almost everyone is working practically nonstop. We tend to be stronger from the labor, but you should see the sunsets, they are the most fantastic thing that I think I have ever seen, I mean the sunset with the trees is nice here, there's nothing like a flat sunset where you can see all of the colors fading into darkness." He smiles at the memory, and I smile as I try to picture what he has been seeing every night for his entire life, and imagine how different this must be for him here, I'm sure he wishes that the setting was closer to what the terrain was like when he was home. I'm sure that his strengths would be easier to see.

His stride has picked up as a new determination crosses his mind. His family and friends are probably watching flashes of us as the day goes on. My father is probably being forced to watch as Resin and I fight for survival, but I haven't heard any cannons today, so I assume that Resin is still alive at least.

"Do you miss it?" My voice strikes something with him because he turns around to face me. I put my head down in shame, this is the second time I asked something without thinking.

"You know, that's the thing. I really don't, I have no siblings, and both of my parents are dead, so it's not like I have anything to go home to. I lived with my aunt, but I don't feel the bond of family. Do you miss home?" He softens his gaze and he watches me as I think carefully about my words. I don't want to offend anyone.

"I miss parts of it. I miss the smell of the breeze moving through the trees, and the smell of the rain in the dirt, but I don't miss home itself. I actually feel like I have more of a home in here, then I ever did there." I lower my gaze and hope that my father hadn't been watching at this particular moment.

"I guess we have that in common." He smiles and I can tell that the moment is over. I recompose my emotions and harden myself to the world around me. I listen to the leaves rustling in the trees, and take a deep breath. There must be something about freedom that makes the breeze smell like what I'm used to.

The breeze here smells musty, with the familiar smell of pine in the background, but there is some other smell that I am not very familiar with. I breathe deeply to try to get it to smell differently, but it never is. I want to pinpoint the smell, but it is nothing I have smelled at home.

Kayos stops walking, and I am so caught up in the smells that I run right into his back. He whips around and glares at me in irritation. I hang my head, and remind myself where I am. I cannot afford to make mistakes, cannot afford to be distracted by the scenery.

Kayos puts a finger to his mouth, and he pulls me forward to see what he has seen. I almost jump up and down with delight, but I remember I am supposed to be silent.

Some idiot has started a fire with green wood, and based on the fact that the coals are still burning hot, the perpetrator is nearby. The hunt is on. I creep over to the fire and inspect the ground for footprints. The dense soil leaves a small imprint when stepped on, as I know from when I went hunting back home. The ground is covered in leaves, so I have to sweep them away from the soil softly in order to keep the prints that could be hidden underneath intact.

I find a fresh imprint of a boot in the soil and grab Kayos to make him stop walking around. I inspect the size to make sure it isn't one of our prints and point to the footprint in the earth, and he nods. I scuffle around on my knees looking for the direction of the prey. I find a second fresh footprint, and I follow the trail to make sure that I am correct in my judgment. There is no doubt that this was a human. The treads on the boots have definitely made an imprint in the dirt, and it should make it fairly easy to follow whoever it is, I just hope it isn't one of the people that would be harder to take down like Vivi, Resin or Liasion.

"East, they went east." I point to the right as I whisper my observations softly to Kayos.

"How many?" He locks his gaze with mine, and the seriousness of his gaze actually frightens me. The cocky arrogant boy has been replaced by a boy that is dying to get his sword into some poor unsuspecting Tribute. I cock my head to the side and roll my eyes, going back to examine the tracks more carefully. I have to factor in all of the prints from us before deciding.

"One. There is only one size of boot print. I'm guessing female from the boot size, that or a young male." Young male. There is only one younger male left in this competition, and I am really hoping that the young male is not who I think it could be. I shake my head, and assure myself that it's a female's tracks. Not that it really matters, either way it's not going to be a day maker for whoever these tracks belong to. I feel slightly remorseful about what I need to do, but I had already made my decision before I got here, and I can't go back on my promise now.

Kayos gestures for me to lead, and we skulk away from the tiny smoldering fire and towards our next target. I smile in anticipation as I follow the small footprints, each one bringing us closer to the unsuspecting person. Just like hunting, there is absolutely no difference between hunting and the Hunger Games. Well except for the whole limited food and water part.

The footprints seem to be on a course all their own, almost frantically searching for something that their owners will never find. I'm sure that they have gotten lost in this massive forest, and I almost feel sorry for them. Maybe they will be able to get away from us. My eyes graze over the prints absentmindedly as we follow them, and a twig snaps in the distance bringing me back to my senses. I turn my gaze to Kayos and hold out my arm to stop him from walking forward so that I can listen more in depth for another sound of life around us. That and I'm sure that if he keeps walking he will alert the person that we are near.

He raises his eyebrow in confusion, and I raise a finger to my lips to keep him from speaking, and point in the direction that I heard the footsteps in. He nods in acknowledgement and crosses his arms in impatience, his fingers grasping at his sword without knowing it. I smile in amusement and turn my senses back to the forest. I can hear the faint sounds of jabberjays, genetically altered birds that were created during the rebellion for the use of the Capitol. They must be of no further use then to torture us in here if the Capitol so desires. I also hear the faint sound of buzzing and figure that it is some sort of bee, though if it is one of the Capitols muttations, or just a normal bee, I cannot be certain. It might be the jabberjays tones though too.

The faint scent of animals brings me to smell the air more thoroughly to see if I can smell anything else, but there is only trees, and the stale scent of a rabbit. I hear another branch snap in the distance, and pinpoint it to be a few hundred yards directly in front of us.

I smile to myself and gesture for Kayos to follow slowly, carefully. We don't want this thing to hear us, be it animal or Tribute. Either way it will be beneficial to us. I draw a knife from my pack and move forward in easy, quiet steps. The occasional twig snapping beneath Kayos' larger body makes me almost swear in annoyance at him. Is he trying to get us to be heard?

I glare at him in annoyance as he steps on another twig. He gives me an exasperated look and I shake my head at him, continuing my silent steps toward our prey. I hear a twig snap a few yards to my right and I almost scream out a cry of victory. My gaze turns toward the sound and I turn and almost bump into Kayos, and I point into the small clearing in front of us now.

A small Tribute girl is crouching in the dirt trying to dig out some sort of root. Her brown hair cascades down her back, and I watch her intensely for a few minutes before nodding at Kayos. He knows the plan. He smiles in excitement and puts his sword down next to me, winking at me before stumbling into the clearing looking defenseless.

The girl spins around in alarm and falls flat on her butt as she squeaks out in fear. Kayos tilts his head questioningly and reaches a hand out to the trembling girl while putting on his cocky smile. Based on her looks I would assume that she is around sixteen.

"I'm not going to hurt you. If I was planning to, you would never have seen me." His voice comes out as silky as honey, and she relaxes considerably and grasps his hand, allowing him to help her to her feet. He smiles his cocky smile once again, and I have to force myself not to laugh at this girl's stupidity. How can she think that this boy is her ally is a death arena?

"Then what are you doing here?" Her voice comes out as a trembling whisper, almost like a mouse trying to figure out why it is in a trap. She has large brown mouse-like eyes, and a small stature that makes her seem younger than I'm sure she is. She is shaking and her gaze stays fixed to the ground at all times, like she is afraid to even look at the boy in front of her. Everything about her seems mousy to me, Kayos is the snake, and she is his startled paralyzed prey.

"Don't know yet, I got bored." His voice continues to flow in the breeze, and she holds his gaze trying to figure out the meaning of his words. He chuckles at her and pulls her close to him. She relaxes slightly, and I smile knowing that I picked a good ally.

Anyone female would relax around him, it's too difficult not to. I see him give me a slight glance, and I nod to him. He smirks and nods slightly in response.

His hands go on either side of the girl's head, and she looks at him in confusion and fear. I can see her eyes trembling from where I hide, and I cock my head to the side to see if Kayos wants my help with this or not. Her fear reminds me of a child's and for a moment I wish I could intervene and let the little mouse run free, to let someone else deal with her.

"What are you doing?" her wispy voice carries softly through the trees, and I can catch the extreme fear in its tone. He cocks his head to the side and his gaze changed from sweet to maniacal all in an instant, and he smirks at her slowly, replying steadily.

"Ok well little one, I only half lied. This isn't going to hurt if you don't struggle. It will all be over soon." He snaps his hands to the side, breaking the girl's neck cleanly. That's how fast the death of the girl is. We don't know her name; we don't even know her District. All we know is that she is dead, and that Kayos killed her, although it was my plan mostly. I tracked her, and I was the one that figured out that she was a person. Her death is almost as much my fault as his, at least sort of in a way. It was a complete joint effort and our team is working just fine.

The girl drops to the ground in a heap, and Kayos comes to join me in the bushes. He starts to leave, but I stop him. I want to know what comes to take the bodies from the arena. I stare into the clearing, and notice that the mockingbirds and jabberjays have become silent. He raises an eyebrow at me, and I glare at him before refocusing my gaze back to the clearing. It has been about thirty minutes since the girl died, and there still is no sign of anything coming to get her or coming out of the ground to get her.

My alarm rises as I hear it the whirring sound that is so familiar to anyone in the Districts, especially now. No one could possibly forget the terrible sound. A hovercraft.

The shiny silver hovercraft floats above the clearing, and a metal claw comes out of the bottom of the craft. It is a smaller hovercraft than I am used to, small enough to maneuver in the forest, so I assume these were built specifically for the games. I cock my head to the side as I examine the claw. Its descending shiny prongs swing in the wind from both the arena and the wind kicked up from the hovercraft. My body shakes uncontrollably at the contraption. This would be a completely terrifying way to go. I wouldn't want to have my body lifted into the air by the thing that destroyed our world. It seems like a way of mocking the people.

The claw wraps its prongs around the thin girl's body and lifts her limp figure from the arena, pulling it into the craft where it must be sent back to the family. They will be calling for Kayos' blood, and since they have probably seen that I am with Kayos, mine. I shudder at the thought. The victor will have to face a lifetime of hatred, and a lifetime of nightmarish reoccurrences of the Games in their dreams. I suppose that this is the point of them to begin with. The Capitol wants to prove that no one can get away from its strangling grip.

As soon as the hovercraft is out of sight, the jabberjays and mockingbirds take up their songs and all returns to as it was, like it never happened. However I know that something happened, and so does the girls family, and all of Panem. It seems cruel that people across Panem are being forced to watch as children are being taken away by the hovercrafts.

The girls cannon fires, and I almost laugh at how late it is compared to the others. They must have been unprepared for her death. Let the Gamemakers deal with our spontaneous plans, let them continue to try to figure out our next move, we are ready. We must stay one step ahead of them at all times, it's that or die, and that doesn't seem very appealing to me. I shift my gaze back to Kayos, and his eyes are wide in shock. He must be as terrified of the hovercrafts as I am. I put my arm on his shoulder to reassure him that I am here, that I will protect him from anything that tries to get him. I owe him that much, and yeah ok maybe I do like his company.

I can't imagine how lonely the Tributes are that have decided to play the Games alone. The mere lack of human existence would be driving them mad. I can't help but have pity for them. However, now is the time to be tending to my little party, and we are over a half days journey from our little copse of shrubbery and I don't even know if we are going to be able to fine it again in this mess of trees. We'll never make it back there before the sun sets, and I would rather not be in the open with Vivi, Liasion and Res out there somewhere. Kayos is obviously thinking the same thing.

"We need to find somewhere to stay tonight, but not around here, Vivi and Liasion will be looking around here for whoever killed the girl." He looks solemn, and I nod in assent. I let him take the lead again, and we trudge through the forest, looking for the perfect spot. I look up into the trees and have an idea.

"Kayos can you climb trees?" He turns and gives me a look of complete and udder horror.

"Sometimes. Why?" His wary look almost makes me laugh. I smile at him and point into the tall trees.

"They won't ever think to look into the sky. If you can climb, we are going to sleep in one of these trees until we can find somewhere better." He looks at me like I have lost my mind, but says nothing about it. Maybe I have lost my mind, but I just want to keep us safe.

We walk awhile longer until we find a huge tree with a thick base and large limbs that should be able to hold Kayos' greater weight. I swing myself up onto the first branch, and hold my hand out to him to hoist him up. He eyes my hand warily before grasping it.

I squeak in alarm as I learn that he is quite a bit heavier than I had thought, his weight almost pulling me out of the tree. He gets himself onto the first branch, and I turn to climb from branch to branch until I am at least twenty feet off the ground. I can actually see better up here than I was able to on the ground. This might help with our entire goal after all.

I look down to see him struggling to get up the tree, as the branches creak in protest at his weight. I would like to climb higher into the tree, but I don't think the branches would hold him, and there happens to be an unusually large branch that can hold both of us here. Well, at least I am praying that it is able to hold both of us that might be an interesting fall at night.

Once he finally comes up to join me, he is covered in a layer of sweat from the exertion, and his look says that he is not thrilled with this plan. He grips onto the trunk of the tree to the point that his knuckles turn white, and I smile sweetly at him, and kiss his cheek quickly. He immediately forgives me for making him climb the tree, and settles down in the crook of the branch next to me while keeping his arms firmly attached to the trunk of the tree.

It is beginning to get dark, and I'm sure Vivi and Liasion are having a ball looking for Tributes. They seem like the more mountain cat type of hunters that prefer to stalk in the night.

"What's it like in District 1 Ziah?" I look over and see Kayos' brown eyes gazing at me in anticipation of an answer.

"It's interesting. The gap between the rich and the poor is extremely evident. Either you are very rich or very poor. There is no middle ground. There isn't really very much to do there, and everyone is always caught up with themselves, so no one ever notices when someone else is having troubles. It's a pretty terrible place. The only good part is the sound of the trees in the wind. It sounds just like it does here." I smile at the thought and try to listen to the soft sounds of the leaves and limbs shifting in the wind.

"You don't want to go home do you?" I look deeply into his eyes, and think about his question.

"No." He looks at me in confusion, but nods his head.

"You are still trying to protect your brother aren't you?"

"Of course I am, he's all that I have ever truly cared about." I look into the distance and see some sort of light coming through the darkening trees. My intuition tells me that this light is not a friendly presence, and I panic as Kayos beings to babble at me. The light has changed directions and is heading directly toward us. Whoever it is must have heard one of us speaking. I press my hand to Kayos' mouth as he attempts to begin to speak again.

"Are you sure you heard something this way Liasion?" My eyes widen in terror and I look over at Kayos. He pries my hand off his mouth and mouths 'Vivi' to me, and I nod in acknowledgment. So the cat pack truly does hunt in the night like the snakes that they are. I look into the clearing below us and watch as a tall tan skinned boy walks into the clearing with dark hair by what I can tell in the dim light. Liasion. I anchor myself to the trunk of the tree to keep from falling out in fear, and continue to watch as Vivi glides into the clearing; her black curly hair and dark skin making her almost completely blend into the night.

"Hold on Liasion, we have to wait for our new pet." Her voice purrs out in amusement, and I wait for another Tribute to stride into the clearing. She crouches close to the ground and snaps her fingers and whistling for whoever waits in the distance. Her dark skin even glows in the darkness, and I can tell that she is a real beauty. I had never had time to take in her features before, but her thin bony face and pointed nose contrasted well with her long dark waves. She looked almost villainous, and I can tell that she has longer fingernails as an added weapon somehow. I guess if you're beautiful you can even get what you want from the Capitol.

"Come on boy!" Liasion's voice sounds angry and terrifying, and I wonder who would be stupid enough to want to join up with Vivi and Liasion. His muscles ripple as he moves his fingers in anger. The boy is getting impatient, and wants to be on his way.

In answer to my question, a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes walks into the clearing, his pale skin glowing in the darkening light. I know everything about this body.

It's Resin. He's joined the killer pack.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Kayos has to grab onto my waist to keep me from falling backwards out of the tree. My head is spinning, and I feel like I am going to be sick. The power pack is using my brother, and when they get what they want, they'll kill him. I know what they want also, they want me. The girl who scored a ten in training and stole their thunder by killing one of their own in the first few minutes of the Games. I'm sure that one of them would have won if the girl from District 4 and Joiyse hadn't been killed. I am also sure that they are aware of this fact. Kayos puts a hand over my mouth to keep my squeaks of pain from being heard. The power pack remain directly below us, and we can't afford to give away our positions, because Resin still has a bow, and based on past experiences he's fairly decent at it. I rub my shoulder, and instinctively pull back my jacket to inspect the wound.

Whatever Kayos put on it has made the wound almost disappear completely. A thin red scratch is all that remains of where my brother shot me, though it will probably leave a thin jagged scar. I trace circles around the small incision, and let my mind go back to my dream last night, and the river of blood. If it really was meant to be the blood of the Tributes, how many of us are going to have to die until something happens. The girl that became the mockingjay was according to my dream supposed to take revenge for the Tributes, but how? A twig snaps below me and my attention returns to the three Tributes below me as Vivi's soft steady voice rings out across the clearing.

"Oh shut up Liasion. We like Resin remember." She ruffles my brother's hair, and I automatically bristle in anger at her touching any part of him. I want to jump out of this tree, and cut her hands off for laying a hand on him. I remember I have my knives, and I pull one out silently, aiming at Vivi's beautiful flawless obnoxious little head. Vivi sounds completely irritated and she points her spear directly at Liasion. I hold my knives, if we are lucky, she'll get mad enough to kill him for us. He seems to be the biggest threat in the games, so the sooner he is disposed of the better it will be for all who are involved here. Liasion turns his gaze to Resin, and hisses in annoyance. He actually hissed. I never knew that people actually did that. He actually hissed like a feral cat whose tail had been stepped on.

Resin returns Liasion's gaze just as steadily.

"I'm here now so let's just go already." His annoyance flickers in his voice, and I actually find a bit of amusement in this.

"I could've sworn I heard someone around here." Liasion looks around frantically for a moment before sighing in resignation and leading the power pack out of the clearing, and as Vivi is about to leave I throw a knife at her head. The sound of an object flying through the air comforts me, and I smile as I see it heading towards the girl who is here to make my life hell.

The knife sticks into a tree as her head ducks around it, and I swear under my breath.

Somehow, none of them heard the soft sound of the knife lodging itself into the bark of the tree. I would have thought that at least Vivi would have noticed, but I suppose that it is a lucky break for us. Maybe they aren't as all seeing as everyone would have hoped. I climb tentatively out of the tree to retrieve my knife from the tree. I drop the last ten feet and land softly on the balls of my feet, the sound of impact making a soft thud in the soft earth. If they come back they are sure to notice the knife protruding from a tree. I tuck it safely into my belt, and grab onto the tree, hoisting myself up into its branch's embrace. Kayos helps me up onto the large branch and I look over to see him staring at me.

"What?" Annoyance creeps into my voice, as I see the pity in his eyes. I don't want his pity. I want Resin to be safe from the arena, but that's not going to happen. I don't need anyone's pity, I just need to get as far as I can in these Games.

He just shakes his head and leans back into the trunk of the tree. I look into the sky and watch as the last rays of light are extinguished from the sky.

The anthem of Panem plays and the sky goes pitch black to show the face of the girl that we killed. The girl from District 11. Her family will be grieving for her, and her District will be screaming for these Games to end. They will be forced to watch until only one Tribute is left standing, but they know that neither of their children will be coming home.

I try to recall which Tributes are still in the competition. Thirteen died yesterday, then the girl from eleven today. Two days into the Games and fourteen Tributes are already dead and on their way back to their families. So, there are ten Tributes left in the arena. It seems like an endlessly large arena for so few survivors to ever come into contact, and I wonder how ratings for the Games will be if it gets dull watching us circle each other.

I know that both from District 1 are still alive, Resin and I. Both from two are still alive, Kayos and Vivi, as well as Liasion from District 4. I think that at least one is alive from District 6, but I can't recall any of the others. I shake my head to get rid of any remaining thoughts and pull out one of the last quarts of water. I have seen absolutely no water in the arena so far, and I wonder if the Capitol wants us to die of dehydration if we aren't killed by other Tributes. I take a sip of the water to quench my parched throat, but I drink sparingly, and then hand the bottle to Kayos, who finished his last bottle after climbing up the tree.

I watch him drink, and smile at how adorable it is. I shake my head again to get rid of the thought. I can't think like this. Keziah, you have to let it go. The Capitol has taken your future, so stop trying to think about how it could have been. There is not future for most of Panem. He hands me back the bottle, and our fingers brush, sending a shock up my arm that makes me feel extremely exposed. I nestle the water back into my backpack and sit with my legs dangling off of the branch waving them around like a child.

"Ziah, you should sleep we need to be able to move tomorrow." I turn my gaze to rest on him and see the concern in his eyes, so I consent for his sake. He lies down on the branch and opens his arms for me to share his warmth. The temperature is dropping rapidly, and I am grateful to have him trust me enough for us both to sleep. I curl up in his arms and let my eyes close, thinking about the bloodshed and murders.

Murder. That's what this pageant is, but I would never dare speak it aloud. I drift off into a light fitful sleep, where jabberjays run throughout the Districts, and the rebellion is still in its full potential. When there was still hope for the Districts. The rebellion is still alive in my dreams, as I'm sure it is in the majority of Panem.

_ I open my eyes to the bright flickering light, and blink several times to get my eyes to adjust. The smell in the air is acidic, and it looks as though the sky has exploded into a rainstorm of ash and rubble. The ash burns as it hits my eyes, and even blinking will not relieve the pain. I force myself to stand, and look around me. There are Peacekeepers and citizens of Panem. They are standing in front of a screen, with an arena. A little girl is being shown on the screen, and the girl from yesterday is there as well. Tears flow freely down her face as she sings softly to the girl. A lullaby for her to die to, even the birds have joined in to say goodbye to this young girl. The girl on fire pounds her fists in anger and closes the girl's eyes before leaving the clearing. The ash starts to rain down in heavier clumps, making it harder to see the screen. _

_ The girl on fire has returned with her arms filled with flowers. She walks back to the little girl and starts to cover the wound that the girl had sustained before she died with the white flowers. She lined her entire body with the flowers before standing and looking around for a moment. Her gaze finds a camera and she holds up three fingers in a silent farewell to the dead Tribute. I watch the reaction of the people around me. The dead Tribute must have been from this District. _

_ One shorter man with dark skin balls up his fists and runs at one of the Peacekeepers. Several others follow suit, and a fight breaks out across the entire square. The ash rains down heavily to where I cannot see my hand if I hold it in front of my face. Fire explodes across the ash, and the picture in front of me clears again. I see a single white rose that matches the one from last night. It has vines that stretch out from the bush in every direction and curl around the twelve trees that surround it. The vines have cut into the trees to the point where there is no way to remove it without cutting down the trees. Sap oozes out from the places where the vines sliced into the huge trunks. It looks as though the rose has been wrapping into the trees for almost a century. I walk into the clearing and approach the rose. It's beautiful and flawless in a dangerous way, and it reminds me of President Hill in a way. _

_ I reach out a hand to touch it, and a vine whips out and wraps around my wrist, cutting off circulation with the thorns slicing in. I watch as my blood drips from my wrist and splashes onto the flawless white of the rose. It falls from the rose into a puddle on the ground. An arrow flies in from the distance and pierces the rose, making the petals fall to the floor in a graceful floating motion. The white petals turn black and transform into feathers. Flames burst out on the rose bush, and it explodes over the vines, burning them to the ground. There is a bright flash, and I have to close my eyes to the blinding light._

_ When I open my eyes, the vines are gone, and the areas on the trees that had been affected still bore the scars from where the vines were, but no trace of them remained. Burn marks can be seen on all of the trees but the leaves are still green so they will live. In fact they should grow with little impact from the years of strangulation from the rose's vines. In a decade or so, the rose's existence will be forgotten by the trees. _

_ I look down at my still bleeding wrist. There are always casualties of war. How many will this one take? How many innocent lives will have to be taken before the ashes begin to fall? I bend down and pick up one of the black feathers, watching as blood falls onto it, staining the white tips red. Blood is the root of all of the problems of this world. You are either born with the blood of a leader or a follower, you have the blood of a noble or the blood of a common man, and sadly for the Districts all of us are born with the blood of the common man_

I wake to a movement below me, and I blink against the bright morning light, trying to see what the threat is. My eyes adjust, and I smile at the luck of this new development. I nudge Kayos into a semi waking state and continue to watch below me. A boy Tribute has chosen to make camp directly below our tree, and continues to sleep. The movement that I heard was the boy rolling over. He was lying on a pile of leaves, so any movement would be able to summon a hunter from a mile away. I nudge Kayos again, careful not to frighten him. I really don't want to be responsible for him falling out of the tree. He blinks at me with a look of irritation at being awoken, and I point down below us. He processes for a moment before smiling, and gesturing that this is my turn to play the games. I creep down the tree silently, and stalk quietly to the other side of the clearing before picking up a stick and throwing it with all of my strength at a nearby tree.

The sharp crack of wood snapping in half makes the boy jump up from his sleep into instant alertness. I watch as the stick shatters and splinters into small pieces with intrigue and slowly turn my gaze to the boy before having them flit up to Kayos, who smiles mischievously. I half smile, and return my attention to the crouching boy. He is warily taking me in, and his hand reaches for a spear that rests on the ground. I resist the urge to pull out my knives, and take a step closer. He seems to be more adequate at the whole survival skills thing than the girl from yesterday, and I carefully take him in. I take a step towards him and he grasps the spear and jumps to his feet in one fluid movement that blurs together so quickly that I barely catch it. I cock my head to the side and give him a flirtatious smile. Well I guess we have a fighter here. That will make this Game all the more fun. I continue to evaluate the situation. This one could potentially cause a problem for me if I don't think things through completely.

His eyes flicker in fear, and he throws the spear directly at my chest. I drop to the ground just as the spear lodges into the tree where I stood only moments ago. My eyes widen in shock, and I pull my knife out walking up to him now that his weapon is gone. Alright, I guess this kid is more than adequate at survival skills, let's see how well he can fight. I'm really glad that I have fast reflexes right now. This kid's pretty damn good. I walk up to him angrily.

"Now honey, that wasn't smart. I didn't have to be your enemy." My fury boils over as I reach him and shove him to the ground. He grabs my ankle and pulls it out from under me causing me to crash to the ground clumsily. I yelp in pain as I land awkwardly on my wrist, sending tendrils of pain up my left arm. I can hear Kayos shifting above me, readying himself to shimmy down the tree to assist me, and I shake my head at him furiously. This is my fight and I will succeed or fail on my own. I pull out a long thin bladed knife, and turn back to the boy, who launches to his feet and bolts for the tree that has his spear still lodged in it. Perfect, I take a deep breath in and as I release the breath the knife cuts loose from my hand like it is a part of my breathing pattern. The moment seems to move in slow motion as the boy rolls to avoid the blade. I watch in horror as the blade lodges itself into the tree right next to the spear. The kid is fast, amazingly fast, and there is no way that my knives are going to cause half as much damage as that spear. I position myself into a crouch and pull out a curved blade. If he wants a fight, then he can have one. He has managed to pry the spear from the tree and has turned to face me, his eyes blazing in excitement and fury.

I launch myself forward with as much speed as my legs will allow and watch as the boy's face shows an ounce of fear. This knife I will not throw, I need to see his fear as I stare him in the face. He positions himself, and heaves the spear with his entire body. He stumbles forward, and I sidestep. The spear flies through my hair, shearing off a good portion of it, and I can feel a warm liquid dripping down my neck. I misjudged the speed slightly. I bring my hand to my neck, and when I pull it away, a thin line of blood stains it. Okay, it's just a scratch not a big deal. I breathe in, and the breath is knocked out of me as something solid slams into my stomach and knocks me to the ground. I roll my weight with the opposing force and manage to land on my hands and knees. I look below me, and I see the boy's face inches away from mine. I blink at him several times before making sure that his arms were pinned by my knees. His feet kept kicking at me, but that pain is nothing. I lost my curved knife when he ran at me, so I have to retrieve another from my belt. I hold it to the boy's neck pushing hard enough to dimple the skin without breaking it. He holds my gaze steadily, and I stop momentarily. His huge brown eyes dig into my heart. They look like those of a wounded puppy, and I can't bring myself to kill him.

I take him in completely, and assume he is about fourteen, with shoulder length sleek brown hair, and tanned skin. His body is small and thin, but he is muscular for one so small.

"Aren't you going to kill me?" His voice is cracking and strong, and my heart wrenches. He's still just a boy, just like Resin. I feel an automatic need to protect him from the world, from the prying eyes of the Capitol.

"No. I won't kill you." I drop my knife to the ground to prove my point, and look up at Kayos. He is furious, I can tell by how his mouth is clenched in a thin line. I motion for him to come out of the tree, and the boy's eyes widen in fear at the presence of the larger boy, and he takes a step closer to me figuring that I am less of a threat now. Kayos jumps the last ten feet, and lands gracefully on his feet. His eyes are glistening in anger, and I walk over with my head hung in shame. I remember that the boy is still in the clearing, and I turn to him.

"Do not try to run, or you'll be dead." My anger is boiling over, and I don't want to have to kill this Tribute, so I hope he has the common sense to listen. I turn away from him and walk over to the fuming Kayos.

"You couldn't even go through with your own damn plan Keziah. What the hell is wrong with you. Kill the boy so we can move on." His fists are clenching and unclenching in anger, so I look him in the eyes.

"No. I won't kill him. He's scared Kayos, why can't we keep him with us." My voice is almost coming out in a whine. I want someone that will remind me of my purpose in the arena. I am not just a piece in the Gamemakers Hunger Games, I am here to protect Resin and get him home, that's it. So I guess I am a piece in my own games as fun as that thought is. The unknown boy will help me keep my head about the Games, and give me an anchor to keep me focused on keeping Resin alive. Besides, odds are something else will kill him before I will have to.

"If you won't kill him, I will." He draws his sword, and strides toward the boy, who sinks to the ground pleading with him to spare him. His cries drive me to my senses, and I run full speed in front of the boy as Kayos raises his blade to strike him down. A scream comes from my mouth as a fiery pain explodes across my arm where I was attempting to block the blow. The boy screams in shock and I sink to my knees, blood pouring from my forearm. I look down at the cut to see that the sword has penetrated to the bone. I collapse to the ground in a heap and cry out in pain, not caring who hears anymore.

"Keziah, what the hell!" Kayos screams at me in anger and fear. He kneels in front of me and fumbles to get a look at my arm. The boy sits on my other side, hugging my good arm tightly. I focus on the pressure that he is putting on my left arm, instead of the mangled mess of my right.

"You can't kill him. Please Kayos." My eyes plead silently with him, and I silently make him promise to do anything that I want. He lowers his gaze and nods slightly at me. I hold out my good hand to the boy.

"Allies?" My voice is weakening, and he looks up at me in shock like this was more than he'd ever hoped would happen. His small hand grasps mine and the deal is sealed. I collapse completely, and clutch at my arm in pain.

A thump in the distance sends another scream from my lips. Kayos grabs his sword in an instant and flies out of the clearing to protect his wounded family. In the arena this is as close to family as we will ever get. The boy looks at my arm, and whispers softly into my ear.

"Thank you for saving me." he wraps his arms around my neck and clings to me in companionship. I am glad that I decided to save him. He really does remind me of Resin. Both are sweet, and he is so small that even Resin might be slightly bigger. I would assume that he can't weigh more than eighty pounds. I smile at him and watch as my blood stains the ground.

Even stitches won't hold this together. I'm pretty much screwed at this point, but that's alright. Maybe Resin can do this on his own. I hope that he can. Hope is all that I have left. I hear the trees on the left of the clearing rustle as someone walks toward us. Kayos walks into the clearing holding some sort of container with a large silver parachute attached. He joins us on the ground again, and looks at me in confusion.

"Open it, what's the worst that can happen?" I give him a lopsided smile. Of course the worst that can happen is that we are all killed by whatever is inside, but odds are we are all going to die anyways, so what difference does it make when. He turns it around to look for an opening, and finds a small silver latch on one of the sides. It clicks as the latch opens, and I am transfixed by the strange little container. The lid flips open, and Kayos reaches his hand tentatively in, and his fear of the container is palpable.

His eyes widen as he grasps something and pulls it out. A small round container. We all look at it in confusion, and he pulls out the little piece of paper that was found in the bottom of the container. The stiff paper crinkles as it is opened.

_ 'Apply generously and stay alive.' _

I look at the small jar, and grab it from Kayos' hands. He rolls his eyes in amusement as I try to get the lid off with one hand. His hands cover mine, and he twists the cover off. I dip my hand into the creamy gel, and cautiously move some of the salve up onto a portion of my arm.

There is a slight hissing sound and I drop the salve in alarm. My arm gives off a smoky mist, and I stare at it in alarm, so this is it, I'm going to die of poisoning from the Capitol. They tricked me into thinking that they were being generous and sending medicine, but no this was just a play to get me out of the picture. I'm sure my smoky death will be amusing to the Capitol.

The smoking stops and the portion of my arm that had the salve has been changed from a bloody useless piece of flesh to new skin and muscle. I giggle in relief. Heyfer really hasn't left us to fend for ourselves. This must be a gift from sponsors. She really is trying to keep me alive. I whisper thanks to her, and allow Kayos to apply a thick layer to the rest of the cut.

The hissing and smoking continues for a few minutes before fading away, leaving my arm as good as it had been this morning. I smile at Kayos, and the new addition to our alliance, and Kayos moves close to me.

"Put this on the wound in your chest." He whispers it gently, and I feel bad for him so i comply. His eyes are full of pain and misery. He thought that he had mortally wounded me, and he did. I don't blame him though. Once my chest is treated I hand the salve to the boy, who treats a large cut on his arm that looks infected. He winces in pain as the medicine begins to work, and shortly after begins to sigh in relief.

"What's your name and District?" I turn to face the boy completely.

"My name is Disho, District seven." He looks me in the eyes and smiles at me, revealing an adorable young boy that only tried to fight because he was scared.

"I'm Keziah, District one, and pissy pants over there is Kayos, he's from two." I inspect his arm to make sure that the infection was driven away, and once I am satisfied, I help him to his feet. Kayos has his back to us, and refuses to turn around. I'm sure he is still irritated that I didn't do what I was supposed to. I can tell that he is not very fond of Disho, and I don't really blame him completely. Choosing to trust another person in here is dangerous, especially one who knows how to fight, but I have a good feeling about this boy so I shrug off his pouting.

"Disho, why don't you go look around for some edible roots or water. just don't go too far." I ruffle his long hair as he grins at me and runs off into the woods.

I sigh and walk over to Kayos, crouching in front of him. His eyes rest on my face for a moment, before flitting back to the ground. I guess I have to play mom and ask the baby what his problem is. My throat is parched from the lack of water, but that is the least of my worries right now. An alliance that cannot get along will result in failure.

"What's wrong Kay?" I cock my head to the side, questioningly, and let my legs go out from under me, making me plop onto the cold dry earth.

"I almost killed you." His voice trembles with emotion, and I grab his hand. He pulls it away and put it back in his lap.

"Well you didn't. It was an accident." I grab his hand again, and refuse to let go no matter how hard he pulls to free himself.

"My rage got the better of me, and I could have killed you." He looks miserable, and I raise his head to look me in the eyes.

"It's ok, you didn't." He tries to get me to let go of his face, and I sigh in resignation. I know what will make him let everything go. I need him to be on top of things, anything could happen here, and i can't do this alone.

I look into his eyes. A tear escapes from his closed eyes.

"Kayos, it's going to be okay. I promise." He tries to fight me, but I cup his chin in my hands, and stare into his light brown eyes. This is one thing that the Capitol cannot take from us. They have taken our pasts and out futures, but the present is ours for the taking. At least for the moment, this moment is ours and ours alone. Not even the Capitol can take that from us.

I lean forward and kiss him gently, pressing my lips softly against his, showing him that we are still our own persons, even if the Games are changing us.

**Here are responses for those of you that reviewed. **

**I greatly appreciate every one of your reviews, and take every comment into account for future writing. **

**Jalooloo: Thank you very much for your positive reinforcement. I had stopped writing this for a few months because i didn't think that it was well liked. This greatly helped me restart! And as for her over the top dream, for me personally, I actually have those kinds of dreams, I know it's strange, but I like to incorporate parts of myself into my stories, so I swear there is reasoning for it. Thanks again. **

**Snoozinghamster: Thanks XD. You probably read the earlier version of this same story in August of last year. **


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I pull away from him and raise an eyebrow at him to see if he's back to normal. He smiles cockily at me.

"I knew you couldn't resist my charm." He laughs and I join in, grateful that he has returned to me. I am not entirely sure how I feel about him, but I know that he is my best friend. I haven't ever really had a friend besides maybe Tithe, and it's kind of nice to be able to think of someone as one in a situation like this. He has my back and I have his, and if it takes kisses to keep him sane, then I will do just that.

"Oh yeah that's what I would call it, charm." I roll back onto the balls of my feet and get up, leaving him looking stupefied on the ground. I go back to my pack and take a drink of water. We are getting dangerously low on the stuff, and will need to put Tribute hunting on hold in order to search for it if we want to survive. I grab a couple of knives and walk out into the trees to search for meat. I want to stock up on food while we still can, I have no idea how much game has been placed in this arena.

By the time that I return to the small clearing, I have taken down three rabbits, and two squirrels. They have been stored safely into my pack so that I can skin and gut them when we make our next plan. Disho has returned, and I smile. I guess we can trust him after all. I sent him out as a test, and he has passed with flying colors. I can't help but feel a little bit of pride. He is being so strong about this entire concept, in fact he is doing quite a bit better than some of us.

Kayos and he are crouched together whispering about something, and when I intentionally snap a twig beneath my foot, they both snap their heads up in alarm. The tension that is resonating between them is palpable, and you can almost smell the testosterone in the clearing. We have a long way to go if we are going to be able to work as one unit, but I guess it's a start that they are even speaking, and I'll take what I can get. Silence immediately ensues, and I have to force myself to not roll my eyes in irritation. Apparently I am not worthy enough to hear what the men are planning. However, I don't see the men throwing knives at prey to bring meat back for the group.

A smile appears on my face to hide the irritation, and the mockingbirds sing above us in the trees, giving me a sense of safety. Mockingbirds, how can something like a bird save Panem from the stupidity of the Capitol. I've begun to believe that my dreams are just a load of hopes for a girl that has nothing left to dream of. Roses and ashes have nothing to do with the future, and girls cannot be on fire, it is a physical impossibility. It's time for me to stop dreaming and face the fact that there is no hope for the future of Panem, it will always be like this.

I pull the meat out of my bag and drop them on Kayos' lap, throwing a knife into the ground beside him in frustration. Life will never change. The leaders will always have the power, and everyone else will always be forced to follow like a flock of sheep.

"Skin it, gut it, clean it, cook it, in that exact order. I'm going to look for water, don't follow me." I pull another knife with a wicked curved blade from my pack and place it in my belt for emergencies.

"I don't-"

"I don't care if you know how to or not. You're big bad men, figure it out." I turn on my heel and plunge back into the darkening depths of the forest. As soon as I am out of the sight of the clearing, I drop to my hands and knees, digging my fingers into the dirt. The hot, dry, crumbling earth becomes cooler as my fingers delve deeper into its depths. Wait, it's becoming cooler. The trees and grass survive perfectly, though there has been no rain, and the ground is dry and cracking. There aren't going to be any ponds or springs or rivers in this arena. The Gamemakers are trying to test how bright we can be in a difficult situation. They don't care if we die or not, but they do want to see how well we can problem solve. They wouldn't have made anything easy in here; they want us to work for anything that they graciously bestow upon us. My mouth burns from going all day without water, and hunting has taken any moisture that had remained in my body away. I need to figure out how to get the water. I know that it is close; I can sense it, like when on a game trail. They would have made it difficult enough that we would have to figure it out, but easy enough that we can get to it if we can figure out their riddle. The roots of the trees and grass obviously is getting water, that's it, the water is underground. They must have created an underground lake or stream that runs under the entire arena. That is why the forest is so dense. It has enough water to make it thrive. It's all underground.

I pull a handful of dirt out of the ground and toss it to the side, digging for the water that is sure to be held beneath the surface. The only question is how far down it is. A thin layer of sweat has covered my entire body, and my parched mouth is cracking and bleeding from the amount of exertion. I keep pressing my palm into the earth, checking the temperature of the soil. The dirt is definitely getting cooler. It's an underground spring, not a lake. That's where they hid the water. I dig desperately at the earth, scratching and clawing at it as my nails crack and my hands begin to bleed from hidden pebbles and thorns becoming embedded into my flesh. I ignore the pain and keep forcing myself to dig. I have to be close. The ground is ice cold, and the hole I have been digging has become a small crater. I have to be in the hole in order to be able to keep digging, and the smell of earth surrounds me. I am completely immersed in the dirt, and I don't know how much longer my hands can comply with the strain. I pull my hands out of the dirt and inspect the damage.

My flesh is pink and raw. Blisters cover my palms and fingers, and the pain is unbelievable. I thought that being stabbed and shot hurt, but those were nothing compared to this. Blood covers my hands where blisters have broken. I bite back tears as the adrenaline wears off, and force my hands back into the dirt. I have to prove that I am right.

I bite back a dry squeak of pain and continue to dig into the ground. Silent tears stream down my face in a grimy trail, leaving mud marks on my face. I throw more dirt aside and continue to dig into the mud. How much further can this water be? The coolness of the mud soothes my pained hands and I sigh in relief. I love mud. It's so wet and cooling. Wait a second. I dig my hands into the earth again and gasp in relief and surprise. It is mud. I'm almost there. I dig my arm into the mud until my face is embedded in the wet slimy substance. I pull out my arm slowly, and water shoots into my face.

I stifle a scream and allow the ice cold water to wash my face and body. I look down to take in the layer of grime that covers my body. My father would be appalled at the state that I have allowed myself to get to. I must look like a wild feral animal, my red hair flaming around my head in a ragged mess and the dirt tainting my pure white flesh to a dark mucky color. With this look it is hard to believe that we have only been in here for three days. I am broken and dirty, and any trace of my old life has been erased from my face. I can tell from my reflection that I have lost weight already, as I can see the bones in my shoulders and neck more clearly than I can ever remember. My eyes look hollow and full of sorrow, and overall I look like death.

I step out of the hole that I have created and watch in awe as clear liquid flows into it. I don't understand how it can possibly be that clean, but I'm not going to question it. I strip out of my clothes and step into the icy water, cleaning off any remaining dirt, and washing out my hair till it easily untangles.

I redress after washing out my jacket and pants, putting on the still damp clothing. I grab the band from my wrist that Vicktoria gave me and put my hair up into a ponytail, the back of it flaring out into a flaming inferno. A lot of it was damaged from the spear, so leaving it down is not an option. Some parts of it are shorter than others, and it's only on the left side of my head, so the ponytail at least makes it look mostly normal. I smile at the result, and pull out the bone dry bottles in my pack. I fill the three bottles and slowly drink one, draining it over the course of an hour before refilling it and shaking out my still dripping hair.

I feel reinvigorated, and decide to go back to the boys to tell them about my discovery. A low rumble makes me turn around in confusion. The ground is splitting where I dug the hole. I watch as the crack increases and goes between my legs. What the hell is going on? My eyes widen in horror as the ground opens up, ripping trees apart and widening by the second. My scream pierces the air as the ground beneath me gives out and I begin to plummet into the supposedly never ending hole.

My hand grasps at the loose earth at the surface, and I have to continually move it to keep a hold on the rim of the abyss. It isn't possible that a natural spring could create a fissure like this. I look into the forest to see everything shaking violently. Trees are falling and crashing down everywhere around me, and I can hear them splitting and crashing down to the ground. I can hear the screams of other Tributes as the entire arena shakes and shudders. Earthquake. The arena is experiencing a huge earthquake. How can a built area experience an earthquake of this magnitude? I dangle helplessly, trying to get my other hand onto the ledge. My legs swing back and forth, giving my arm elevation. I grab the ledge with my other hand, and watch as the soil crumbles toward me, causing my body to cascade into the fissure. My screams echo across the walls as I tumble further into the hole. My hands flail to grasp anything to stop the falling.

I grasp at a small outlying ledge of rock and dirt and manage to get a hold of it, making the cuts on my hands burst open and wet the ground that I am desperately holding on to. Sweat covers my body, and I grab onto a root that is sticking out of the wall of the abyss. I scream in pain as it slices my hand into oblivion, and pull myself up onto the small ledge, praying desperately that it can hold my weight. I sit with my legs dangling off of the ledge, and look up into the light. I fell a good twenty feet, and there are no sturdy handholds to help me climb out.

The ground is still shaking tremendously, and I grit my teeth as more rocks, trees and dirt fall into the crevice. There is no way that this is a natural earthquake. It has been going on too long for it to be natural.

I hear a boy's scream in the distance, and assume that he has fallen into the hole as well. His screaming continues until it suddenly cuts off. There must be a bottom to this hole, and he must have just hit it. I cringe as I think about what they could have possibly put into the bottom of this hellhole. A howling echoes from the bottom of the hole, and several others join in soon afterward. Well I guess that answers that, they put a pack of some sort of wolf at the bottom of the hole. The boy that fell into the hole was eaten by a pack of wolves. I hope that all of my boys are safe from this. This seems especially cruel, even for the Capitol. They must be angry that I figured out their riddle, and that I didn't kill Disho.

The earthquake stops in the same instant that the boy's screams cut off. The earth falls silent, and the birds take up their songs once again. Something is terribly wrong here. The boy died, and the earthquake stopped. What could possibly be the point of that?

My eyes open in realization.

The Gamemakers. They created this from somewhere in the distance. Things have been too quiet today for the Capitol audiences' liking. No one has died, and I'm sure they expected Disho to die by my hand, they must have been disappointed.

Oh god.

The earthquake was meant to kill me. They wanted me to kill Disho, and I didn't and then I outsmarted their water trick. I have become too smart, too human for the Games, and they want me dead. They can't have a smart Tribute walking around in here, they might get an idea to get out of here. That would just be bad for ratings.

Well I'm sure this will make for an entertaining time for the viewers.

I look up into the light again, and try to figure out how to get out of this hole without falling further into it. The only way out is to climb out somehow, but my hands are not capable of holding onto anything. Blood pours from my palms where the roots sliced into my tender flesh, and the blisters cause even more pain every time that I move them. I let tears fall silently from my face and tilt my head back in pain. I am alone in a dark hole, and it's my fault that another Tribute is dead. It always seems to be my fault in some way. I never meant for it to end up this way. I never wanted to be a killer. I never wanted to be any of this.

A mockingjay flies overhead, and I whistle a short tune to it. It whistles it back before flying away. I remember the tune that was sung for the little girl in my dream, and I sing it for the birds. They take up my tune and all around me the little girl's lullaby echoes throughout the forest in strong loud tones. They all seemed to have taken up the tune in a chorus, and it seems to be a reassurance. Maybe they are telling me that tomorrow will be better.

I love mockingjays. They are truly fascinating creatures. They might be an accident of nature, but they are interesting, especially now. They truly bring hope, and if my dreams are true, then one will bring a great deal of hope in the future. A small jabberjay perches on the edge of the crevice and eyes me cautiously. Its beady eyes are obviously Capitol made, but maybe I can use this muttation of the Capitol to assist me.

"Help me." I whisper it to the bird, and it repeats it in my exact tone. I smile as it flies off, and hope that by some miracle it will find Kayos and Disho. If I'm going to die, I don't want to die alone. I suppose that the Capitol will do everything that it can to make sure that I will. Tears stream down my face as fear overwhelms me. I am terrified of the dark crevice, and would rather die anywhere but here. Maybe that is what the Gamemakers want, to make me die in a way that would destroy my very being. To show Panem that being smart will not save you against their wrath. Nothing can save you from that.

The smell of earth is nauseating, and I breathe deeply trying to stay calm. I open my pack and pull out my small first aid kit. Clean white bandages, some sort of salve, fever pills, gauze, and disinfectant lie inside, and I get to work on my hands. The disinfectant burns, and it's all I can do to bite back my curses. I look at the salve and figure it can't hurt, so I apply a thick layer to my hands, and the pain immediately lessens. I sigh in relief, and wrap the bandages tightly to stop the bleeding. My eyes become heavy, and I drift into a light sleep.

_I open my eyes and am covered in a layer of ash. There is screaming in the distance, and I hurry to my feet to run to whatever is going on. I can tell that I am in one of the Districts from the state of the houses, but I cannot tell which. They all seem the same to me in a way. I enter a white tent, to see several wounded people lying on beds, and many more scattered on the ground. This must be a hospital from some sort of natural disaster, like an explosion or tornado. _

_ The same girl from my other two dreams walks into the tent with a bow. I cock my head in confusion as I take her in. She still has the single braid down her back, but the clothing has changed drastically, it's almost like a costume. The shiny black ensemble seems to be inappropriate and out of place in a hospital, but then again the bow does not fit in too well either unless this is some sort of war hospital. A war in the Districts? It's impossible, the Capitol would never allow it, as it has been proven to us. I can't think of anyone who would be stupid enough to try to fight back against the Capitol anymore. _

_ A loud whirring sound begins, and I know what's coming. The Capitol has sent its hovercrafts to disband these new rebels and put the Districts back into their places, just like they did with us. I watch as the girl spins around and sprints out of the tent much to the dismay of the people that had been following her around. I rush out of the tent to follow her, and stare at the huge fleet of hovercrafts that have begun their approach. I look around frantically for the girl, and finally spot her thin figure climbing up on top of a building. I stare at her in horror. She seems to just want to make herself a target, she must be crazy. There is no way that this girl is really what is supposed to save us from the District. She isn't thinking things through. I watch as the crafts begin to drop their bombs. They rain down on the city like lightning in a storm, and the impacts shake the ground and send dust flying into the air. I look at the direction that they are headed. The hospital. I stare in horror as nurses attempt to drag people out of the hospital and away from danger. They are going to need time if they hope to save any of those people. There are children in there, but we all know that the Capitol will not refrain because of that. _

_ The girl draws back her bow, and I shake my head in disgust. An arrow is not going to do any damage to a hovercraft. I watch as the arrow is released, and fire explodes from the tip as it makes impact with the wing of the nearest one. It falls out of the sky like a dying eagle, and explodes into a massive ball of fire. An image of a mockingjay seems to soar out of the flames, and then everything goes black._

Now I can try to find a way out. I count the knives in my pack. Twelve sharp blade with different handles and blades. I also have the arrow that came from my shoulder, and I look up the side of the crevice again. I lodge the arrow a few feet up from where I am perched, and grab two knives with long thick blades. I've got to try to climb out. No one will be able to call me a coward. I want to be known as the girl who died saving her brother, not the girl who gave up. Carefully, my legs straighten, and I place one foot onto the arrow. I can feel as it bends beneath the pressure from my foot, and suck in a breath. Perhaps this is not the best idea that I have ever concocted, and I am really unsure of the stability of this wooden arrow stuck a few inches into an unstable rock surface. Dirt pours down onto my face as I shift my other foot into a position that will allow myself to vault up the side of this crevice as quickly as possible. I slowly reach down a trembling hand to grasp the knives where I had stored them in my belt.

I slam both knives into the wall as deeply as they will go, and watch as several rocks and clumps of dirt fall from the wall and into the hole and press my weight into the wall, being supported by the knives and arrow. I kick my second foot into the wall repeatedly until I have created a small foothold that will be able to withstand my weight without crumbling. I heave myself up the vertical slope and one of my knives slip, and rocks and dirt tumble downward in an avalanche. My breath comes out in ragged gasps of fear, but I force myself to continue. I slam the knife in a little bit higher, and step into the foot hold that I created.

The air around me seems to spin as my dizziness overcomes me, and I cling to the wall to keep from losing my sense of what is real and what isn't.

Once my balance has been regained, I kick another foot hold into the wall and move the knives up another foot or so. The work is difficult, and it distracts me from the world around me. I'm not in a hole, I'm free, back home, working to climb a tree with no limbs at the bottom. My hands and feet gather into a rhythm and I quickly work my way up the steep slope. I close my eyes, and think of home. The trees around me, the feel of the sun on my face. I reach up with my knife and find that it won't stick into the wall.

My eyes open slightly and find that my knife is striking air. I kick out one final foot hold, and hoist myself up onto the ledge of the crevice. I made it. I'm alive. For now at least. I smirk at the air as I'm sure the makers of the games are pulling at their hair in frustration. I have become a problem for the games. They have marked m to die, and my stubbornness has made it a challenge for them now. Even if the makers hate me, I'm sure the people of the Capitol have learned to love me. Based on the parachutes that I have received, they like me a lot. I am assuming that the medicine that have been received are not cheap and I'm sure that they made everything a lot more expensive for the Games, they want to test to see how far they can go.

My breathing is shallow, and I cannot get up. My hands are beginning to ache again, and I can see red stains beginning to form on the palms of the bandages. I hiss in frustration and wonder why the Capitol didn't just kill us all at one time. I know the answer to my own question. They want to show us that the Districts cannot truly get along, that we enjoy killing each other. They want to prove that they are powerful, and we as Districts are too weak to even keep each other alive. Above all, the Capitol wants to keep a balance of hope and fear. A fearful country will not be as successful with production, but one that has hope, will work a great amount more just so they know they have a chance.

I sigh and lay back onto the ground. The ground crumbles away, and I roll back just in time to see the little area that I had been laying on, cascading into the pit. My terror increases. Then again I could be wrong. Maybe they just want a longer amount of time for amusement. My head is spinning from dirt inhalation, and I smile at what easy prey I have turned out to be right now. Even Disho could take me out right now, and I probably wouldn't even attempt to fight back. I look into the sky, and the world begins to spin, and I see the face of a jabberjay just before everything blurs and I pass out for the second time in a matter of days.

_ I open my eyes to see the girl on fire lying in the mud while the rain pours down on her small body. She seems younger here than I have seen her in any of my other dreams, and she looks very sick. I can see her thin hands trembling from here, and walk over to a tree near her to observe what is going to happen from afar. I must be here at this time for a reason, but I have no idea why. So the girl is hungry, but what does that possibly have to do with change. She obviously is going to be fine, I have seen her when she is older. I stare into the pouring rain as I hear a slap in the distance. A boy's voice screams out in pain, and I wince. Someone must have done something wrong by the Capitol, because I have never seen much of any violence shown to children from anyone but them. _

_ A blonde boy steps out of the nearby bakery, and I step backward in alarm before remembering that this is a dream, and it's not even from my time period. A large red handprint is plastered on his face as an angry reminder of what had just happened to him. I guess cruelty runs deeper than just the Capitol after all. He holds in his hands two loaves of obviously burnt bread. He must have dropped them into the flames accidently and either the baker or his wife found out and acted rashly. The boy steps out into the rain, and takes a step toward a pen that seems to hold several pigs. I guess the owner told the boy to feed the wasted bread to the animals. The girl looks up at the sound of the door slamming shut, and takes in the boy. She seems to be too weak to even get up to run away. She looks to me like she is slowly starving to death. The boy with the bread locks eyes with her momentarily before throwing the bread absentmindedly in her direction and quickly turning to reenter the bakery. The door closes with a slam, and that's it, the boy is gone. _

_ I return my gaze to the girl, and watch as water streams off her face and onto the ground. She looks at the bread, probably questioning if it was meant for her or if the boy just had really terrible aim. Her thin arm reaches out in a trembling motion, and she slowly crawls the few feet over to the wet, still steaming bread. Her hand clutches at one of the loaves, and she tears off a piece ravenously before standing shakily and stumbling off down the street. I follow closely behind her to see why she didn't just eat the bread there. _

_ This must be District 12, as I can see coal dust and mines scattered everywhere. The girl walks quickly past it all and takes an abrupt turn into a small house. The small wooden house seems to need repair, and the roof seems to have several holes that probably let in quite a bit of the rain. A small blonde haired girl appears in the window and her face lights up at the sight of food. I follow the girl into the house and watch as she cuts off small slices of the hearty bread and has what I assume to be her family sit at the small broken table. The little girl looks to be dying as well, and the older blonde woman seems to be in a sort of trance. Something must have happened to this family._

_ I walk back out of the house and stand in the rain until it seems that a river has begun to flow._

An echoing sound rings throughout my dreams. An echoing of jabberjays and a new rebellion in the future. The echoing becomes a persistent ringing, the ringing of some sort of voice in the distance, but I cannot quite make out who or what the person is saying. A low murmur replaces the ringing, and my eyes flicker open in the slightest motion. My eyes are heavy, and my body won't move, so I cannot begin to understand how long I have been passed out. My head is burning in pain, and my entire body aches. I turn my head to the side to see the opening of the pit to still be just a few feet to my right. It actually seems to have gotten closer since the last time I was able to take it in.

I force my aching joints into a sitting position, and I realize that it is freezing cold. I look around and curse at myself for not noticing the second I woke up. It is snowing. Not only is it snowing, it is a blizzard. District 1 is extremely used to blizzards in my area at least, so I obviously recognize the thick white frozen flakes that are plummeting from the sky. My eyelashes are frozen, and so is my hair and eyebrows. I shiver, and immediately wish that I was back in my passed out state, at least I didn't recognize cold. The flakes seem to float in an unnaturally graceful state, like every single flake is dancing in the air until it finally lands in a pile with other flakes exactly like it. Wait exactly like it, that isn't right. I lean down to inspect the flakes more closely, and see that they are indeed exactly the same. These must be genetically engineered by the makers of the Games.

Snow has drifted into piles of at least five foot, and at least two feet of the stuff has actually fallen from the sky. I look to my left to find Disho sitting staring at me. I flinch in surprise and try not to roll closer to the edge. He smiles at me as he realizes that I am back, and attaches to my neck in happiness. I slowly press my hands into his back in an embrace, and wince at the stiffness of my limbs. Pain explodes across every muscle in my body at the slight movements, and I'm sure that being in the snow has not helped my already tense muscles.

"How long have I been out?" My voice is hoarse and quiet from not being used.

"Three days. It started snowing yesterday. Kayos wanted to move you, but I didn't think it was a good idea, you lost too much blood." His eyes flick to my hands, and I see that they are as good as new. Either Kayos or Disho must have put the salve from the sponsors onto them.

"Has anyone else died?" I know that the boy from either District 6 or 9 is dead from the earthquake, but I don't know about anyone else.

"Yeah, the boy from six died the day of the earthquake, and the girl from three died yesterday. I think that the scary girl from two and boy from four killed her." He looks into my eyes in concern and I force myself to get up for his sake. It's just like with Resin. I have to be strong so that he will be too. He grins with excitement, and I take in my surrounding for the first time since I have awakened. I have been covered in some sort of heat reflecting blanket, and the warmth is what had been keeping me from feeling the cold nip of the blizzard very much. I have felt it enough for my muscles to be tense, but not enough for my body to be cold.

"Where's Kayos?" My voice edges on desperation, and fear fills my body. I want him here with me now.

"He's around. He's looking for a cave to move to for when you woke up. He's been looking desperately since the snow began. I think he has some sort of thing for you." He grins and winks at me playfully, and I put a hand to my mouth in mock despair and widen my eyes at him. He pushes me in irritation, and kicks me softly with one of his small feet. I'm kind of glad that it is very obvious that Kayos is interested in me, because if it is obvious to a young child, it must be obvious to the rest of the Capitol, and I am sure that they must absolutely love that aspect of romance being thrown into an otherwise show of violence.

"Oh whatever shall I do?" I fall onto the ground in dramatic flair, and when Disho leans over to make sure I'm okay, I grab his arm and pull him down into the snow. His giggles are reassuring, and I smile at him. White flakes stick to his dark hair creating a contrast of the melting snow from the flakes that are still intact at the tips of his hair. His cheeks easily show the bones underneath, and there seems to be a new depth of hollowness in his eyes. He seems to have lost weight since the last time I had seen him only days before. I guess that neither of the boys know how to hunt or gather food for survival. I silently curse the male's stupidity.

"Maybe you should run in circles until he stops." He grins mischievously and I bury him in snow, amused at how like home this actually can be. This is just like how Resin and I used to play around whenever it snowed, and they cancelled school. At least when we still had school. When the rebellion began, all of the schools in the Districts were shut down. No one really ever knew why this occurred, but several of the teachers were Capitol citizens fulfilling a debt to their home. I'm sure that they were the first casualties to the war, but many of the teachers were District citizens, so what happened to them, the world will never know. I hadn't seen any of them since the beginning of the war. These schools taught us about the making of Panem, and the ruthless struggle that had to be faced to rejoin a warring nation. They had said that Panem was once called North America, and many of their people had died when the ground collapsed from under them and the floods came in destroying much of the land. I wonder if they were ruled by a higher power as well. Home seems so far away now, like it was lifetimes ago.

Maybe home really can be wherever you think it is. I giggle and we scuffle in the snow until he pins me, pushing snow into my face. I sneeze, and he rolls off of me laughing hysterically. I ruffle his hair and hug him in amusement. I hear a twig snap and look up expectantly at Kayos. Instead I see a spear fly through the air. Its long shaft flies through the air in a blur, and I stare as it flies past my face, missing it by a few inches. My head spins wildly as I jump to my feet. This new character is obviously not Kayos, and I refuse to lie on the ground like a sitting duck.

The cry of pain behind me makes me scream in horror. My head turns to see the spear embedded into Disho's chest, his blood staining the snow red. The red droplets seem to fall from his small body in slow motion, bouncing softly off of the snow momentarily before finally settling into the frozen water. He gasps and falls to the ground, and I dive to catch him. His thin body settles heavily in my arms as his weight causes me to fall into the thick, heavy snow. His thick dark hair flows out over my arm, and the wet strands both chill and warm it at the same time. Tears flood out of my eyes and drip onto his face as he stares into my face. His face is replaced by Resin's in my head, and I know that I have failed.

I failed Disho, just like I failed Resin. It seems that I am unable to protect anyone that I love, and I wonder if the Capitol is planning this to punish me. I don't know if even they can plan these moments out. I think that they would rather watch as Districts turn on each other. It seems like that would be more dramatic without their interference, and their interference is pretty obvious. I remember that someone had to throw the spear, and see Vivi stride out of the trees.

"Hey little bitch. So we meet at last. Not so big and bad without your boy toy around are you?" she sneers, and I pull out my knives. I had lost about six of them in the ravine, so I am dangerously low on the weapons. It makes me feel vulnerable, but I suppose I'll have to make do with what I have. I kiss Disho on the head and begin to stand, but he grabs my wrist. His grip is still strong despite the wound that is most likely going to kill him.

"Please don't leave me Keziah." His voice is only a whisper, and I know that he is going to die. I glare at Vivi, and prepare to throw my knife into her heart. She falls to the ground with a look of shock on her face, and I turn my attention back to Disho not questioning it. I nod at him to tell him that I am not going anywhere. His head falls back, and I can see that his breathing is slowing. Snow falls onto his face and sticks to his eyelashes. Water coats his face, and I move his shirt up to inspect the wound. The shaft seems to have entered his body and come out the back, because my leg is soaked with blood that is not my own. His eyes remain locked with mine, and I stroke his hair. There is no point in my reassuring him that he is going to be okay. He is smart enough to know that he most definitely is not.

"I love you. I promise I will never forget you." I grasp his hand, and watch as his hand slowly releases mine. Two cannons sound. One for Disho, and one for someone else. Who else is left. Vivi, Liasion, Kayos, Resin and I, but I don't know who would have been killed. Liasion is most likely nearby based on Vivi's whereabouts. Wait, Vivi collapsed. I never threw the knife at her it's still clutched safely in my fist. I look up to see an arrow protruding from Vivi's back. An arrow. I only know of one Tribute left in this arena that uses a bow. He strides out of the trees and over to me. His small frame and blonde hair shine in the pale light.

"No one gets to insult my sister except for me. Hello sister." His grin is almost normal, and I stand to take him in. He looks thin, with his features standing out against his hollow skin. His large round eyes seem larger from the dark circles surrounding them, and his bones seem to stick out against his skin more, but he still looks fairly the same as well. His eyes are bright, and his lips curl up into that same cocky smile that I have seen so often with Kayos. He has that sort of youthful innocence still, but his face has become more edgy from hunger. I guess that they actually meant for us to be hungry. I thought the name was just a dramatic edge.

"Hello Resin." I look at him warily, and Liasion charges out of the trees, a look of shock crossing his face as he sees Vivi's body lying face down and Disho's broken body. His pale face seems to actually get paler as he looks over his dead companion and the arrow protruding from her back. He looks at Resin in horror, and his face turns red in fury. I have never seen Liasion this closely before, and the boy is massive. I would assume that he is eighteen years old, and over two hundred pounds, and all of his weight seems to be muscle. I have never seen anyone actually have their face turn red from fury, and I find it rather amusing in a completely frightening and threatening way. I stand beside Resin, and Liasion looks at both of us before stomping his foot in irritation. Resin seems to have gained a confidence that makes him seem completely unafraid of the looming titan before him. My brother can't be heavier than ninety pounds soaking wet, and he has no fear whatsoever of a foe twice his size. To me this seems to be a complete mistake, for arrogance can easily come back to bite you in a place like this. Liasion glares at us both, surveying the possibility of his victory in a two on one battle to the death. His eyes flash something that looks almost human.

"You'll come to your ends soon enough. You won't know when it will be. I will leave you to think about when I'll be back." He turns and flees into the cover of the trees, and I return my attention to Disho's body, hopeful that he will not be back for a couple of days at least. I kneel beside him, and press my hand to his eyes, closing his eyelids for the last time. His face is still slightly warm as heat leaks from his torn tissue. A final kiss is placed on his forehead before I stand and look at Resin. Tears threaten ti spill from my eyes, and I curse my emotions. I cannot afford to let them fall in my brother's presence. I am still unsure if he is a friend to me or just another fight that is in the making. The only difference is this time I will not fight back.

"Why didn't you just let her kill me?" My voice is angry at Disho's death and at Resin for abandoning me in the first place. I can feel my body trembling from exhaustion, and my hands shake in frustration and anger at the world. I watch my brother's hardened face as his jaw clenches in what I assume to be anger. I wonder if he regrets not letting her kill me, I mean maybe he just wanted to get rid of her, and I was the lesser of the two evils. I guess he figures that I would be an easier target in the long run, so he should take advantage of what he has.

"Because I was wrong Keziah. I shouldn't have blamed you, and I'm sorry." Tears fall from his face, and his face softens slightly. His eyes are still hollow and emotionless, but he seems to be almost the same kid that I had bandaged a few weeks ago, and he looks to be afraid finally as if everything has finally sunk in for him. This is no Game, and there is no way to win. Even the "winner" is going to be prone to a life of interference from the Capitol and hatred from any District other than their own. The winner will be prone to nightmares and fears for the rest of their lives, while being the face of hope for Panem when they themselves have lost all of it. He seems to understand the severity of this now, and I pull him into an embrace.

"It's ok Resin. I understand." He hiccups in response, and I can't help smiling. I knew that boys went through phases, but this seems extreme. It's almost like he has a multiple personality disorder.

"Can I stay with you?" He looks up at me with huge blue eyes, and I know that I can't say no. I nod, and take the lead. I guess I'm going to have to show that I trust him, so showing the vulnerable part of my back should probably make him realize that I am not a threat to him. I can still tell that he is jumpy about being cooped up and being around Liasion for too long. I can only imagine what he had done to my brother in their time as allies.

We walk into the trees in the opposite direction of Liasion. We have to find Kayos before someone or something else does. With Vivi and Disho dead, there are only six of us left. Resin and I, Kayos, Liasion, the girl from six, and the boy from nine.

I take a final look at Disho, and place my fist over my heart.

The sign of saying goodbye to someone in District 1. It means goodbye, it means love, it means that they will never be forgotten. I will never forget the small fourteen year old boy with huge brown doe eyes and long brown hair that shone in the sun. That is one thing that they cannot take from me.


	12. Update

**Okay guys I am not going to be able to write for a while, so I need your opinions if you want me to work more on this at all. I am not feeling that this is being enjoyed, so tell me what you think. Those of you that have reviewed, I greatly appreciate it. I'll try to at least give you an update from me every week if I cannot upload a new chapter. Have a great week!**

**~ The Lone Lioness**


	13. Update 2

Okay guys, I'm just letting you know that I'm not sure I'm going to finish this. I'm tired of people telling me that I do not know how to write when, in reality, I know that I am capable. Many of you that make these snide comments do not always know what you are commenting on, and sometimes writers have to appeal to an array of writers instead of just one specifically. If you don't like the way I write keep it to yourself, because many people do. I write original pieces that are different than anything else on here, so at least I don't conform. So many people love the pieces about Katniss, and I don't want to take away the integrity from Suzanne Collins by borrowing her story-line without some of her characters as well.

I don't want your comments saying that my story is not realistic, because IT IS NOT MEANT TO BE. I am a writer, and I will continue to write, but not for those of you who are rude to me personally.

Thank you to those of you who truly do appreciate my writing,

The Lone Lioness.


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